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When Henry Thoreau went to Walden Pond in 1845, I wonder what he really thought he was doing there. I wonder if he had second thoughts about the whole idea; although when he began it was July, and July is a good month to be outdoors, whatever the weather. The man, and what he did and how he lived and what he lived for have always been a source of inspiration to me, and to many others... Walden is much more than one man's account of the years he spent in the woods communing with nature; it is a statement of defiance. Thoreau was educated at Harvard, and spent some time as a teacher where he despaired of the idea of classroom learning. He had a great respect for the Native Americans, admiring their hardiness and skill. He couldn't understand why people thought of them as inferior. To him, they were wise and strong and more in tune with reality than the farmer with his insulated life. He loved wisdom, and spoke of an enlightened society based on compassion and simplicity. He did not align himself explicitly with any religious view...he was a philosophical person. Solitude was what he valued, not just because he was a thinker, but also because he believed it made you a better person, a more independent mind. These ideas, and the kind of existence they represent, are important for me because I think that we're losing something very crucial...not just in the physical loss of the natural environment, but also in the spiritual environment, which is reliant upon it. If it was obvious 150 years ago, it is now the de facto reality, and the question is: what will it be like 150 years from now?

So...what are we supposed to do about it? You can see how huge the problem is: global warming, overpopulation, poverty, corporate hegemony... You look at it all, and it floors you; you can't see the edges of it because it's all around you, everywhere. It's just how things are...it's what you're used to seeing. And it's horrible, but that's also accepted to a certain degree...the wrongness of it is tolerated because people feel powerless, or bogged down, or maybe they're just tired of trying...all valid points and very understandable ones. I think Henry would look at it as a consequence of a compulsively complicated culture, and once you look at the massiveness of what we have done, the sheer size of our footprint, maybe you can see it too. Going to the woods ain't gonna cut it... But for the people who feel the way Henry felt, who see what he saw in the deep waters of Walden Pond, the option of inaction is no option at all. The real power of his words is in the actions of those they inspire...the good people doing the hard work of trying to make this culture a less complicated one, and maybe they'll succeed and maybe they won't...the value is in the attempt.

It begins with an idea; ideas are the seeds of change, they are what our culture rests upon. But, like a seed, they will become nothing without the proper attention and care. The best one's change the world, the worst one's bring the world to it's knees...which is where we are now. Is it a good idea to continue polluting the planet when we know that it will kill us in the end? No, but that continues. Is it a good idea to pamper the wealthy and tax the poor? No, but that continues. People see these things and forget about Walden Pond because it seems small and ineffectual. It says something about the spirit of a society when the best ideas are purposefully abandoned for shiny, complicated, bad one's. But the people who benefit most from the bad ideas are the people who are effectively running the show. And so they dress them up and give them interesting titles and wrap them in exciting packages and peddle them as good one's. Henry built his home with the trees he took from the forest surrounding the pond at Walden. He built it with tools he borrowed from his neighbors, in good faith, and used recycled materials for what he couldn't get from the woods. It was a good house and it kept him warm in the winter, cool in the summer and dry when it rained. The great wisdom of his life was in how he lived it, with care and appreciation and respect for what was in his environment. Is it a good idea to live as a student, no matter your age? Yes, and also to be a teacher of good ideas, as Henry was.


Thoreau stayed at Walden Pond for two years, wrote extensively in his journal, then left. He could have stayed, I suppose, but solitude is not something which benefits forever. I think he says as much, though I'm not sure. He stayed long enough to learn what he needed to, then he moved on. There is wisdom in that, too. Take what you need and leave the rest. Things are changing, despite how it seems sometimes. People are angry. They're tired of being scared. Maybe they won't go to the woods; maybe that's not even an option anymore. The "woods" now are more a state of mind, a world view. Whatever happens, Walden will be there, as full of good ideas as it ever was...because a truly good idea will always be good, no matter what the censors say.