Monday, May 14, 2012

from "Walden"-Henry David Thoreau



"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."-Henry David Thoreau

At first, I was confused by this line because he said he wished to live "deliberately." I thought and thought and wondered what Thoreau could possibly mean by that. I came to the conclusion that Thoreau meant that he wanted to live his life purposefully. When he says, "and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived" it makes me realize that going to the woods was his way of living.

Source: Thoreau, Henry David. "Walden" 1854 Web. May 14, 2012

1 comment:

  1. So what is deliberate living? Is it to live making a conscious step in everything you do, from breathing to walking to choosing your next pair of socks? Is he implying that people don't think about what they are doing?

    ReplyDelete