Where I lived,and what i lived for

Henry David Thoreau, a writer at odds with life, considered a philosopher to some, and a nutjob to others, has nevertheless placed into perspective a great deal of ideas about life and its meaning. He, unlike others of his time, shunned wealth and materialistic things that had no spiritual value. He wanted to be at peace with himself and with God’s creations around him, and so, gave society his back and wen off into the wilderness to make a life on his own. Thoreau was a man who like his space, and believed that man owned something if he just enjoyed it, but did not necessarily have to own something to enjoy it. In fact, the most enjoyable pleasures in life came from the mind rather than the matter. A poet, for instance could go and sit in a farmer’s field, and while the farmer thought the poet’s joy emanated from the fruit he had collected, it was in reality contentment in enjoying the beauty surrounding him, and that is the true treasure that farmer should feel cheated of. The farm he was so eager to buy enraptured him, mainly because of how isolated it was and how at peace the buildings seemed to be with nature; the apple orchard welcomed the forest rabbits, and the vines had overtaken the fence. He wanted to come into ownership to keep the original owner from destroying the natural splendor of it. Thoreau was fully prepared to care for the dilapidated farm, to carry the responsibility on his shoulder, if only to keep it in that form. In the next paragraph, the writer scorns attachment and commitment to forms of cultivation and civilization. He urges the reader to take life as it comes, to “live free and uncommitted”. It does not matter whether you commit to good or bad, but the fact that you have committed to anything other than yourself and God is seen as disgraceful by Thoreau. To him, life was an experiment, a challenge, but one to be enjoyed and to be thankful for, and Thoreau wishes to draw everyone’s attention to this, to, like a rooster, wake