HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Our life is frittered away by detail …… simplify, simplify!
Somewhere in the woods along the shores
of Walden Pond an owl screeched, and far off another answered. The moon was
bright, the water still as glass. Henry Thoreau sat in the moon filled
doorway of his shack, looking out across the stillness and brightness of the
lake. “this is the spot I love above all other on earth” he thought.
Here, in the quiet and peace of Walden
Woods, a man could live simply and deliberately – shearing off all the
unessentials and getting down to the basic truths of life. Here, in the
solitude, living close to nature, a man could examine his ideas, think things
through, and perhaps come to some reasonable conclusion about the meaning and
purpose of life.
He turned back to the open notebook on
his knees and read the last few words he had written : “the mass of men lead
lives of quiet desperation …. “
A squirrel came stealthily from the
woods and sat watching him, wide-eyed and friendly. All above him were the
soft, gentle sounds of nature, stirring, whispering, ushering in the night.
“I am convinced from experience that to
maintain oneself on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live
simply and wisely . . . Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called
comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to
the elevation of mankind. . . "
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