Henry David Thoreau was a famous American writer of the 19th Century - widely revered and taught in schools in America, but much less well known this side of the pond.
He built a wooden house in the woods at Walden Pond, and lived in it for two years.
I wouldn't begin to summarise his thoughts in a few lines but main themes of his work include:
nature observation - he was meticulous in observing nature, and was often to be found just looking at wild creatures for an hour or more.
Individualism - he strongly believed that people should ignore convention and move to the beat of their own drum
simplicity - he once picked up an attractive rock to use as a paperweight on his desk. When he later realised it needed dusting, and would thus uselessly occupy his time, he threw it out the window. He only worked as much as was necessary to supply his simple needs and spent the rest of the time doing more important stuff, like looking at trees.
I sometimes think about this while mowing my lawn (a job I hate) when I could be out in the woods. Can't remember the exact Thoreau quote, but he mentioned men who think they own their house, whereas really the house owns them.
Needless to say, he wasn't married
Should be read critically, but deserves to be read. You can get the budget Dover edition of his classic work Walden for about £3 on amazon, but texts of much of his work is available on the internet.
Last week I was reading Thoreau by candlight in my tent at midnight. The simple pleasures are the best.
He built a wooden house in the woods at Walden Pond, and lived in it for two years.
I wouldn't begin to summarise his thoughts in a few lines but main themes of his work include:
nature observation - he was meticulous in observing nature, and was often to be found just looking at wild creatures for an hour or more.
Individualism - he strongly believed that people should ignore convention and move to the beat of their own drum
simplicity - he once picked up an attractive rock to use as a paperweight on his desk. When he later realised it needed dusting, and would thus uselessly occupy his time, he threw it out the window. He only worked as much as was necessary to supply his simple needs and spent the rest of the time doing more important stuff, like looking at trees.
I sometimes think about this while mowing my lawn (a job I hate) when I could be out in the woods. Can't remember the exact Thoreau quote, but he mentioned men who think they own their house, whereas really the house owns them.
Needless to say, he wasn't married
Should be read critically, but deserves to be read. You can get the budget Dover edition of his classic work Walden for about £3 on amazon, but texts of much of his work is available on the internet.
Last week I was reading Thoreau by candlight in my tent at midnight. The simple pleasures are the best.