Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau Essay
There are so many things that we can learn from Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Why I Went into the Woods” from Walden. But the idea of his that I can relate to and believe in the most is that of “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." This is such an imperative statement. It is telling you that he wants to live life on the edge, and that he wanted to make the most of what little time on earth he had left. I mean, how could you not agree with the belief in living life to the fullest?
For me, this rings so true. I have known far too many people who have lost their lives too early due to uncontrollable situations. They never had a chance to live out all of their dreams and ambitions. But for those of us who are still fortunate enough to be on this earth, we shouldn’t take life for granted. We are blessed with only a certain amount of time in this world. It’s a sin to waste it and go after what you really long for in life.
One friend I had in particular made this her life’s mission. My friend was diagnosed with cancer only one week after her 13th birthday. The doctor told her that she was only expected to live another 6 months before she would succumb to her disease. As the 6 month date quickly approached, we felt as if there was a noose around our necks, getting tighter with each calendar day passing. But she was stronger than all of us. I can still remember her saying “Why bother moping over something I can’t control? I’m not just going to sit here and waste away, waiting to die.”
So in the next months, she
There are so many things that we can learn from Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Why I Went into the Woods” from Walden. But the idea of his that I can relate to and believe in the most is that of “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." This is such an imperative statement. It is telling you that he wants to live life on the edge, and that he wanted to make the most of what little time on earth he had left. I mean, how could you not agree with the belief in living life to the fullest?
For me, this rings so true. I have known far too many people who have lost their lives too early due to uncontrollable situations. They never had a chance to live out all of their dreams and ambitions. But for those of us who are still fortunate enough to be on this earth, we shouldn’t take life for granted. We are blessed with only a certain amount of time in this world. It’s a sin to waste it and go after what you really long for in life.
One friend I had in particular made this her life’s mission. My friend was diagnosed with cancer only one week after her 13th birthday. The doctor told her that she was only expected to live another 6 months before she would succumb to her disease. As the 6 month date quickly approached, we felt as if there was a noose around our necks, getting tighter with each calendar day passing. But she was stronger than all of us. I can still remember her saying “Why bother moping over something I can’t control? I’m not just going to sit here and waste away, waiting to die.”
So in the next months, she