On Walden Pond

One of my favorite authors is Henry David Thoreau. On one of my many trips to Boston I was able to visit the site of his cabin on Walden Pond. There is nothing quite like standing on the place where he lived and was inspired so many hundreds of years ago.

Walden Pond is one of those magical locations that inspires me to write. Walking along the pond and seeing the trees glisten in the water, while listening to the deafening silence, puts you in touch with your thoughts. It's so quiet there you can hear the leaves fall and the wind in the trees. The water is so still and calm that skipping rocks almost seems criminal. And although I am a city girl at heart, being there makes me appreciate the beauty in nature and the quiet peace that can come when you separate yourself from the world and everything that crowds out your passion.

Thoreau went to the pond because he wanted to write. But even more importantly, he wanted to get the most from his life by determining what was really important, and he did that by removing himself somewhat from his normal life. He did this by living a simple life in the woods. He also took the time to seek spiritual renewal--much like a spiritual retreat. He expressed his purpose quite simply:

"I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived"

Living deliberately can be hard. The day to day dramas and the responsibilities of life sometime crowd out our discoveries. And these days, I'm all about those discoveries.

This blog will chronicle my pursuit and hopefully remind me to "suck out all the marrow of life"

Living Deliberately,
Walden Fan