Walking: By Henry David Thoreau

A very interesting book down to it's origin, Walking was published in 1862 by Henry David Thoreau. This is an article attributed to the Existentialist movement in the United States. There are times when we wonder where we are actually going and can't really decide at all where that is. Thoreau, however, conveys the importance of living a life in nature and learning to escape the complexity of the big cities and attract oneself to the simplicity of the rural life, or rather, a life in the wilderness.

We accustom our lives to some sort of false entitlement. We condition our minds to accept those things as normal which are genuinely the product of circumstance. We quickly find ourselves in a position of sloth and debauchery, overwhelmed by our own consumerism. In order to regain our sense of self, we need to find a certain balance in our lives.

To suppose at all that one could merely adjust nowadays to the life of little more contact than that of a few encounters here or there by travelers seems positively contrary to the modern perception on life. We've grown accustomed to the idea that interpersonal communication is the only way to expand one's mind or to enjoy life. The charismatic individuals who we aspire to be are those surrounded by people, the centers of attention, and how would it appear if we moved to the wilderness and left everything behind?

For a moment of contradiction, it hardly seems reasonable that we should aspire to be someone else, assuming that experience has shaped the individual into their character and ours to who we have become, it seems unlikely that we will ever be able to attain the same degree of regard, though if by some chance we should, we would lose our sense of originality, the one precious thing which separates us from the world.

It seems then that we should be wanting to expand our originality and our uniqueness and to not perform actions based on the ideals of others, but with respect to ourselves. Thoreau mentions, for example, the purpose of a front yard in the living spaces of the towns and cities with their purposelessness. He relates how tragic it is to be so wasteful of the space, but also the general splendor of nature and how it is meant to be adored. We spend so much time and effort into creating a perfect walkway that we section this area off from being walked on that it loses it's whole meaning.

How often do we do this in our own lives? I think more often than might be supposed because we don't wish to consider the fact that we are unoriginal, or perhaps one might say that they are original in the way that they are developing the character exemplified by someone else, which is just a fancy way of saying that they don't like who they are and want to change but couldn't come up with a creative idea on their own! We are too quick to assume that we are too static to change, that we are unable to continue growing and if we do it is only by example. Why not, then, do something completely out of the ordinary? Attempt something new that was never before considered. Take a course in a field unrelated to your occupation. Drastically change your environment to the point that your old life must then be left behind.

In these endeavors, when we truly reach the moment of reflection in the condition that we are standing, it will be impossible to maintain the composure of others and we must then stand for ourselves. We should walk away from the fruitless nature of our minds and expose ourselves to our natural form.