From Henry David Thoreau's Walden:
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. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.
Our life is frittered away by detail.
Simplify, simplify.
Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?
Great selection. Now if only I could really let the unimportant and meaningless stuff go...
ReplyDeletetell me about it. it takes constant effort and I still fail :)
ReplyDeleteOk, I read this before and got upset because I used to love reading Thoreau in school but haven't touched anything as emotional or philosophical since! Does everyone else fall into this trap??? When I have time, I wind up reading contemporary mysteries or sci-fi even though I love the classics...
ReplyDeleteWhat I do to avoid this is read two or three books at the same time.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that take a lot of time, concentration, and catching up?
ReplyDelete...and confusion! My daughter has at least 3 different books going at all times. I cannot believe she manages to keep them all straight!
ReplyDelete