most of the time successful modern life involves lots of
technology, constantly being connected with other people, working very hard for as much money as possible and doing what we're told. So it may come as a surprise that some of the best advice about modern life comes from an unemployed writer who lived alone in the woods and refused to pay his taxes. Henry David Thoreau reminds us about the importance of simplicity, authenticity and downright disobedience. He was born in 1817 in concord, an
unassuming town west of Boston. His father was a pencil maker and his
mother took in boarders. He attended Harvard College in 1833, yet he rejected the ordinary career parts like law or medicine or the church. Then Thoreau struck up a remarkable friendship with the American transcendentalist
philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of the spiritual over the
material when it comes to leading a fulfilling life. Emerson and his transcendentalism had a huge influence on Thoreau. Moreover, Emerson help Thoreau find a place where he could focus on his writing. The older man owned a plot of land in the woods surrounding the nearby Walden Pond. And in 1845 he allowed Thoreau to build a small cabin there, three by four and a half meters. In his two years in the cabin Thoreau penned the first draft of his most notable work: "Walden or life in the woods" which was eventually published in 1854. It would become an inspirational text about self-discovery. Thoreau argued that his escape to Walden Pond was not simply a relaxing retreat to the forest. He
settled there to live deep and suck out the marrow of life as he put it. "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 it had to teach, and not, when I came to die,... ... discover that I had not lived.". After some time in the cabin, Thoreau discovered a different more
conscious lifestyle. To begin with, he concluded that we actually need very few things. He suggested that we
think about our belongings in terms of how little we can get by
with, rather than how much we can get. He managed to sustain himself on only one day of work a week, he pointed out that walking the distance of a 30-mile train journey took a day, but working to earn the money to pay for the same journey will take more than a day. Like his friend Emerson, Thoreau
deeply valued what he called: SELF-RELIANCE He distrusted society and a progress it
claimed to have made. "The civilized man, has built a coach..." he said, "...but has lost
the use of his feet.". He felt that economic independence from other people and from the government was crucial and while he understood that we need
companionship from time to time, he felt that too often we use others company to
fill gaps in our inner life that we're afraid to confront. The task of learning
to live alone was for Thoreau not so much about carrying out daily
chores as it was about becoming a good companion for oneself. Relying first and
foremost on oneself friendship, intimacy and moral guidance. "INSIST ON YOURSELF... ...NEVER IMITATE!", he wrote. Most of all
one should change one's self before seeking to change the world. Thoreau also viewed technology as an
often unnecessary distraction. He saw the practical benefits of new
inventions, but he also warned that these innovations couldn't address the real
challenges of personal happiness. "Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys... ...which distract our attention
from serious things. We are... ...in great haste to construct a magnetic
telegraph from Maine to Texas, but Maine and Texas it may be, have nothing
important to communicate.". Thoreau believed we should instead look to
nature which is full of spiritual significance. He thought of animals, forest and
waterfalls as inherently valuable but for their beauty and their role in the
ecosystem. We can best understand ourselves as a part of nature, we should
see ourselves as nature looking into nature, rather than an external force
or the master of nature. Most of all nature provides the meaning
that money and technology and other people's opinions cannot, by teaching us
to be humble and more aware by fostering introspection and self-discovery. This mental state and not money or
technology provides real progress. Thoreau optimistically declared: "Only that day dawns to which we are
awake. There is more day to dawn the Sun is but a morning star.". Perhaps the best testament of the value
of Thoreau's, individual contemplation and
personal authenticity, is that his ideas lead him to powerful political
conclusions. Thoreau argued that people are morally obliged to challenge a
government that uphold hypocritical or flagrantly unfair laws. So Thoreau turned to what he called:
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. Peacefully resisting immoral laws in protest. In July 1846, he withheld payment of his poll tax duty to avoid paying for the mexican-american war and slavery. "I ask for, not at once no government, ...but at once a better government.", he wrote after spending the night in
jail. It was not until he was picked up by subsequent reformers that his essay
"Civil disobedience" became one of the most influential pieces of American
political philosophy in history, influencing Gandhi, Martin Luther King
and the anti-nazi resistance. Despite his time as a hermit, Thoreau
teaches us how to approach a frighteningly vast, highly interconnected and
morally troubling modern society. He challenges us to be authentic, not
just by avoiding material life and its distractions, but by engaging with the world and
withdrawing our support for the government when we believe is acting unjustly. His works endure and remind us of just how important it is to remove the
distractions of money, technology and other people's views, in order to live
according to our best and truest nature.
i like how the annotations of this video link you to a site to buy scented candles. really mixed messages there
Great summary, i love this. My guy did a recording of civil disobedience at walden and posted it to youtube - couldnt be prouder to know a modern version of Thoreau. Hoping this view of life becomes contagious.. Imagine that, a peaceful revolution