Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” – Thoreau, Walden.
(Updated 5/27/2022) A few years years ago, my father – the oft-mentioned ‘Padre’ within my blog posts – gave me a piece of classic American literature to explore. I read every evening before I go to sleep, so I accepted the task willingly. This book appeared especially promising, alluding to many colorful descriptions of the New England countryside which would be perfect for enjoying before a peaceful night’s repose.
Little did I know that the words therein would offer much, much more than that. It was a book that has since affected the way I look at life, and more importantly, myself. This book was Walden written by Henry David Thoreau, and it was an autobiography of the author’s venturing to a woodland and building his own cabin in an attempt to find enjoyment and meaning outside the constraints of ‘popular opinion’. He was successful, reveling in nature’s tranquility and candor, and finding that those attributes of the natural world take root in all who appreciate them.*
But from what I could tell, Thoreau’s primary lesson in Walden, and as was written in his own words, was, “Simplify! Simplify!” repeated twice, I think, due to its dual-pronged nature. The first simplify refers to material dependence. I was originally going to state ‘material wealth’ here, but it isn’t the wealth that Thoreau condemned, it was the dependence upon that wealth – on material possessions. Exemplifying this, is Thoreau’s anecdote about how he had once owned a collection of three fossils in his study:
“I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and [I] threw them out the window in disgust.”― Henry David Thoreau, Walden. **
Reducing dependence upon material possessions also reduces the hold of ‘fate’ upon an individual – ‘fate’ being events that are outside of one’s control. To present this concept as easily as possible; an individual without a house need never fear a house-fire.
The second simplify refers to the actions of one’s mind. When one clears their head of clutter – i.e. of social media, of news, of needless worries entailing the aforementioned ‘fate’, and of any distraction that is not the spawn of their own consciousness – truly coherent thoughts will surface. Thoughts that matter. Thoughts of the present moment which will, in turn, grant the thinker increased clarity and will significantly improve his or her conscious enjoyment of living in ‘the Now’.
This all brings me back to Find Walden. It is Walden, or rather Thoreau’s experiences within that wood, that helped me begin down the path toward truly living (or at the least, toward a more conscious life), just as his experiences were the herald and muse of much of the content to be found on this website. As for the decision to actually build this place, it emerged from a suggestion of Padre’s and from the afterword of the book he gave me to read.
The afterword of Walden*** was written by the book’s photographer, Scot Miller, who praised Thoreau’s writings and, of course, went on to include the obligatory topic of the Walden Woods Foundation (obligatory in the way that he urged folks to visit or donate or both). But it was after that, the photographer included the phrase: ‘Walden has become as much a state of mind as it is a place…Create a Walden in your own community.’
That last bit was the part that resonated with me. I more or less took it as ‘create a Walden of your own.’ And so, it is now my goal to take on the Walden state of mind; to appreciate simplicity and individuality, and through doing so, attain clarity of consciousness and conscience. Clarity of consciousness through simplicity. Clarity of conscience in knowing that I am devoting myself to life as ably as I can.
I intend for this website, Find Walden, to document my path—the pace of my drummer.
*When’s the last time anyone has lied to a tree?
**As I quote this, I eye the stone, the wooden salamander, and pyrite ball upon my own desk and shake my head. They shall not remain there much longer.
*** It should be noted that the Walden I read was a special edition and bore many pictures of natural phenomenon – simple images of even simpler subjects – yet eye-catching all the same and because of them.