Could Thoreau's idea of a simplistic life work in today's society?

Yes

10 of 10

by Seana Balman

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We complicate and convulute the meaning of the phrase "the simple life." This only underscores the importance and need for Thoreau's work, Walden, in today's society. The idea behind his work is that we become spiritually richer and more fulfilled when we learn to live with less. His meaning of more and less have different meanings today than they did at Walden in 1854. However, the idea of a simple life is indispensable to our spiritual essence, even more so today than 150 years ago. Today, we are bombarded by celebrity, cacophonous advertising, and sporadic television-internet addictions. If this is the norm, to what lengths do we need to go to reach a peaceful plane? We face a potential inability to turn inward and a destructive loss of self if we are unwilling to let these things go (at least temporarily or occasionally.) Losing ourselves, which can be argued to be a desired necessity to maintain sanity today, can feel insignifiacant compared to finding oneself in a more simplified lifestyle.

Thoreau wrote about a two yr and two month stay in a rudimentary and remote cabin. He carefully documented expenditures to only $28.13 for basic needs and necessities. The truth is that he stayed in this cabin for a mere two months, had dinner at his mother's house every night, and when accosted for back taxes, his aunt payed for him. His secluded bungalow was 1.5 miles from home on property owned by his best friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

First glimpse with the truth might cause us to turn away disappointed from his writings. We may choose to laugh at the pedestal this philosopher is propped upon and find Thoreau's ideas unfounded. As humans we also know that we do not need 2 years for inspiration or to find a muse, especially in nature. Conversely, we often feel a need to exagerate our experiences to convey a general picture. And what is Walden, if not picturesque.

The value found in Thoreau's novel does not need to be lived as starkly as he claimed to have done. A simple life can be done- simply, without drastic life overhauls. We can find and experience revelation close to home. Experiences should be experienced (remember, simple) Meaning in life, and following that, intellectual trancendence can be reached in our everyday. For Thoreau his muse was birds calling and church bells ringing. For us today it may be the equivalent or turning off the radio (cell phone) in the car and listening to our children explain why their favorite color is orangeand why they love monkeys, listening to the wind occasionally instead of an mp3 on a walk, or or staring at the stars with libidinous toads croaking on (my favorite.)

Mysteries, adventure novels, and fashion tabloids can be fabulous literary gluttony. Todays New York Times favorite will be our grandchildren's classic university study. Nevertheless, the true classics are classics, reasonable so. Thoreau felt reading the writings of Aristotle, Plato, and Aquinas (and others), help us have a better understanding of who we are. Today this is also true. We can further appreciate and understand our society, our government, and even simplify the inanity of pop-politics. Thankfully, we don't need to read latin or classic greek, as he insisted, to have a simple understanding of the essence of these writings. Simple internet access is a great beginning.

Solitude, bordering on a hermit lifestyle, was romanticized in Walden. In many ways hermitage is simpler, though even at Walden an impossibility. Unintterupted solitude is of monumental importance today no matter how brief. Having instances of peace, whether it is prayer, a quiet meal, or a quiet moment before the day begins, is essential to the survival of our sanity today. Having time to be away from bombarding influences (although they are quite welcome and enjoyed occasionally) and seeking ourselves as a priority helps us see ourselves as valued in and of ourselves. Katherine Hepburn stated, simply, you live with yourself the rest of your life. Make it an interesting place to be. The simple life reminds us that we have a meaning in and of ourselves, we are part of something larger than ourselves, and we are not a means to an inconsequintial end.

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