Walden

Good Morning, Thoreau

“I am awake and dawn is in me.” According to Henry David Thoreau, this is the ultimate quest ---to be mindful and seeking for truth in order to, “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

Truth is awakening to our genius and becoming a noble person by conscious endeavor. In order to shake off the “slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition”, we must live life with purpose. Unfortunately, many are blinded by the delusions of what society calls success and fall short of achieving true accomplishment because of apathy and fear of judgment. However, “In accumulating property for ourselves or our posterity, in founding a family or a state, or acquiring fame even, we are mortal; but in dealing with truth we are immortal.” By following shallow pursuits we will be living a fraudulent life. Thoreau explains further that life is like a fairy tale if we follow our dreams. It takes courage to build a castle in the air, but if we continue on the path which leads to truth, our foundations will be sure and eternal with the footings “pebbly with stars.”

The journey to truth is not an obscure path which is difficult to find and only available to the elite. It is clearly marked by the greatest thinkers and noblest souls of all time in the form of classics. Classics are varied in their medium, yet Thoreau describes the written word as, "something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself". As I have stood on “intellectual tiptoe”, my thoughts have been raised to match my efforts. I hope to hold these thoughts long enough in order to make them part of myself.

I want to be an example to my children of a “treasure hunter”. Books are my treasure and I truly have dated a new era in my life from the reading of a book. “By such a pile, (I) hope to scale heaven at last.” Reading has always been a love of mine, and I believe that it has helped me overcome my persistent thoughts of miniature dreams. I have been awakened to new visions and lofty heights that I aspire to climb and reach. I am guilty of earth-bound thinking, yet when I read from Bronte, Dickens, Tolstoy, Thoreau, etc., I am inspired and marvel at the greatness of this life that has been given to me. I am rich because I get to enjoy Mozart in the morning, Austen in the afternoon, and the words of Christ in the evening with my dear husband and children. Books and classics have without a doubt helped me on my journey and given me a standard for finding truth.

“The cost of a thing is what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it.” This is a profound statement that set me to thinking about how I use each day that is offered me. I believe we all need a “Realometer” to check us from “killing time and injuring eternity”. Thoreau encourages the development of skill of ones own hands and mind in order to provide for the necessities in life. He concluded from his experiences that one could provide for himself nicely if he worked diligently for six weeks of the year. The remaining time could be used for leisure---building ones mind and spirit. Nevertheless, we are often prone to become a “slave-driver of yourself” and constantly thinking of ways to earn and build and amass. Conversely, less is more. If it is true that, “In the long run men hit only what they aim at”, then we must realize how important it is to give time and attention to things that are worthy of us. I fully agree with his sentiment that you are more appreciative of what you create and build of your own; hopefully, this will be qualities of the soul that will transcend time and be passed down to future generations.

Wisdom, advice and practical guidance is to be found throughout Walden, especially in the “Economy” chapter. For example, I have never been a slave to fashion, but from my reading of his views, clothing has taken on a new meaning to me. “The childish and savage taste of men and women for new patterns keeps how many shaking and squinting through kaleidoscopes…” Thoreau’s description of clothes as false skin, false colors and of our outmost cuticle is clever and accurate. Yet it is frequently the measure by which a man is judged. It is a quick and easy way of classifying people and our culture puts a premium on “looking good” instead of being good. The right clothes, the right hair, the right brands make a person cool and appealing…a “winner”. Thoreau warns of us of these false impressions and how they are merely disguises. He wants us to become “new men” instead. He also describes how people in general have more anxiety about patched, unattractive or outdated clothes than they have about their own conscience. What a sad but true statement and I have to admit that I am prone to commit this offense. Instead of praising my children for getting dressed and ready for the day, I have criticized them for their choice of apparel. I know that there is no wrong-doing in having mismatched clothes, but I want them to look “squared-away”. I’ve realized that the sin lies with me and have decided to accept what they choose to wear, however painful it may be especially when we go out in public.

“...civilization has been improving our houses…It has created palaces, but it was not so easy to create noblemen…” Shelter like clothing, a basic need, has become a measuring stick of worth. We tend to define ourselves by our things instead of our being. “Before we can adorn our houses with beautiful objects the walls must be stripped, and our lives must be stripped, and beautiful housekeeping and beautiful living be laid for a foundation: now, a taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors.” God is the master architect and when we marvel at the incredible splendor of nature, our souls are changed. This is where we will plant the seeds of virtue and grow noblemen and noble villages of men. Thoreau’s “Simplicity-Simplicity” stand as a clarion call to reason. Unfortunately his golden words are discarded and replaced instead with silver dollars. This contradiction is ever present in our culture of “think-green” and “conspicuous-consumption”.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” I have heard this quote often times before, but have only just begun to understand what it alludes to and the relevance it has. Henry David Thoreau was a master at making one stop and think about life and what it means. “Direct your eye right inward, and you’ll find-- A thousand regions in you mind-- Yet undiscovered. Travel them”. Self-reflection is a powerful method that can be drawn upon to enlighten and give vision, however, Thoreau laments the fact that too few use it; therefore, the quiet desperation shrouds the soul and light is dimmed from a person. The remedy for the ebbing light is to dream, believe, and listen to your own heart. Instead of hacking at the branches of confusion in life, we must find the root---discover and choose your fundamental principles. A person’s core beliefs are embedded in their nature and are somewhat hidden and forgotten about, but these are the very powers by which one is guided. Awake to them and you can have your castles in the air and all the while be building a solid foundation under them. Thoreau is very pointed in the statements he made about awareness of one’s self, the inner-life, and values we possess, and throughout Walden, he urges the reader to wake up and have an “infinite expectation of the dawn”. He exhorts us to stay alive all of our life, and I want to be one who is awake to the glorious truth of reality and thoughtful of eternity. By reading this classic, I became aware of the desire I have within me to “live deliberately” and continually be drinking from the fountainhead of the day --- “undiluted morning air.” Copyright L.L. Williams