Friday, July 1, 2011

I went to the woods...

 "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,"
-Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Thoreau was one of those crazies who we all admire, so crazy, in fact that he actually lived out the philosophies that he espoused. He was not willing to live a life that was not life at all, but rather a collection of pretension and social obligations. He was determined to life his life in the hottest part of the fire so that all the dross would melt away.

Can I tell you how freaking awesome that is? Imagine if you could for a few days, heck a few moments let go of all of the "stuff" and catch ahold of that thing that you are really chasing?

In Walden, Thoreau talks about living in the "nick of time," that exact moment when two eternities, the past and future, meet. I imagine it like the crest of a wave, that place where all of the energy of the past just begins to break and drives you, with breathtaking speed, toward the future. That elusive, razor-thin moment? That is life, and it is incredibly difficult to catch.

Thoreau said that he wanted to "put to rout all that was not life," driving life into a corner and reducing it to its lowest terms. My pastor calls it "contending for simplicity."
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2nd Corinthians 11:3
 May I be honest? I have a secret desire to live in a van. I don't know if I could ever do it, though I have a notebook filled with diagrams and supply lists as well as instructions on how to install electrical system in a cargo van using a deep-cycle marine battery. If my gypsy heart ever wins out over my fear of stavation and auto-maintenance, then I may just go off-grid one of these days.

In the meantime I'm Walden-ing it for the next few days.

Happy Independence Day!

4 comments:

  1. I've always had a bit of a gypsy spirit...I always dreamed of traveling the country as a homeless person and doing a documentary on the real story behind people who end up on the streets. Anyways, I would totally live in a van with you if you want a vanmate :)

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  2. Definitely! If not you, then it'd be a pitbull, can you growl menacingly?

    I actually want to do it for the same reason. I'd like to go catch stories and strew them about cyberspace (can we still say cyberspace in 2011?).

    This is one of my favorite sites :) http://www.stealthvandweller.com/

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  3. Um, I own a pitbull! I can bring him a long too :)

    Gonna go check out that site.

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  4. Perfect! You and Spike are both welcome ;)

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