Thoreau, Henry(1854). Where I Lived, and What I Lived for.
While rummaging through my backpack, I came across one of Henry Thoreau’s essays that I printed out a while back. In "Where I lived and What I lived for," Thoreau offers us an explanation as to why he decided to leave mainstream society. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what they had to teach, and not, when I came to die.” Perhaps, Thoreau had decided that the best way to live life was by living fully immersed into it without the distractions of material goods. Simplicity of life was to be his means to gain, or grasp his purpose in life. I truly admire his efforts; finding a way to become much less dependent upon industrialization isn’t an easy task to do, but being able to live our lives away from the pressures of media, can really become a wonderful journey in finding ways to be more in tune with our senses.
Wow, living free of material goods sounds difficult! Personally, I do not think I can do that as I am on my laptop at least five times a day. Of course, being on my laptop is necessary for me to do work but nonetheless, I am on Facebook each time I open up my web browser. Thoreau sounds like a very noble man, but I wonder how he would have done if he were to still be around today. Anyway, this got me thinking of how I can wean myself off of material items and live life the way it is supposed to be lived. Thanks for sharing!
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