Walden

For book club this month we read Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. This book is a classic, first published in 1854. Thoreau was born in 1817 and lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He attended Harvard and rubbed noses with some of the great minds of his time. In 1845 he moved to Walden Pond and began writing Walden. He lived a life of bare minimum for two years before returning to civilization. He did not wish to live the life of a hermiy. He hoped to isolate himself from society in order to gain a more objective understanding of it. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals. He was truely ahead of his times, though I'm not sure what he would think of our times, as he saw his own times as fast paced and materialistic!
I did not read the entire book, as it is quite deep and requires focus (a difficult task with busy children and little sleep). The parts I did read, I quite enjoyed. It made me consider what I can live without, how can I simplify my life. In discussing the book, we talked about finding our own Walden's Pond...a place that we can go to/a moment we can take to leave the world behind and enjoy the simple things in life.
When I got home that day I was sitting on the front step watching Ryker play, feeding Blakelee, listening to Kayla sleep, I enjoyed one of those "walden" moments...
My goal is to have more of those moments in my life. Summer should be a great opportunity for this, as we are taking a break from tv and turning our sattelite off for a few months. More time to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Henry David Thoreau is quoted a whole lot more than you would think...do you recognize any of the following quotes?

Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.

All this worldly wisdom was once the unamiable heresy of some wise man.

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.

Beware of all enterprises that require a new set of clothes.

Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.