Simplify, Simplify!

"[16] 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, 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. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."[17] Still we live meanly, like ants; though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men; like pygmies we fight with cranes; it is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion. Our life is like a German Confederacy,made up of petty states, with its boundary forever fluctuating, so that even a German cannot tell you how it is bounded at any moment."
-Thoreau, Walden

My office is shaping up nicely. I now have enough bookshelves that there aren't binders and books strewn raggedly across the floor (at least on my better days). There are a couple of Ikea chairs to relax in and a pretty diverse bit of art to reflect upon. What I don't have...and never will have...are curtains and/or blinds. Two windows take up about 2/3 of the back wall of my office, and when you look through them, the view is mainly trees and a valley. My backyard backs into town-owned woodlands...not a hearty reserve, mind you, but, my rear neighbors are pushed a good bit back.

The birds have started to return to our woods, again...there is a stunning variety of them (I see no less than ten varieties of bird each day). Yesterday's prize was a red-headed woodpecker who went about the business of bug-hunting about 20 yards away from me. Every year, my wife and I get new friends from the animal kingdom (last year was a groundhog, who, unfortunately couldn't predict spring worth a darn); this year we have a new friend....a hawk.

I have seen hawks from a distance; and have even seen a few behind cages; but, this was a completely different experience. It swooped down from out of nowhere and perched on a short limb no more than ten yards away from my window. It stayed there for quite a bit of time and seemed undeterred by my gawking. It was a beautiful animal...one of the more majestic I have seen...and quite large. An earlier man might have taken such an event as some sort of sign; it certainly was the highlight of my week.

For many people, Thoreau's Walden is the property of environmentalists...people who love camping and hate corporations. I certainly had read from the collection; but, I had never read it straight through... until recently. While there certainly are messages for the more strident in their beliefs, I think there is a very important message for those of us in the Midian suburbs. Beyond just a desperate love of nature, Thoreau embraces intellectual focus and simplicity. To Thoreau, our SUVs aren't really the issue...it's our need to have them, and to drive them at 70 miles per hour. Thoreau is not appalled at our houses; he's saddened by our need to have the latest gadget as soon as it comes out. Thoreau is against our materialism; but, even more so, he is against the life of monotony that such greed compels us to adopt. If we must have things, we must always work for those things. There are so many distractions, and so little time for the contemplation, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual connection that life is really all about.

Thoreau saw this monotony in his own life, and he made a radical adjustment. Maybe such radicalism isn't in line with where our roads lead us; but, I do think we should pay attention to this voice from the wilderness. Being vigilant about time for meditation, contemplation, or simply taking a walk (not a run...a WALK) may very well be the first step we take in order to reconnect with God and ourselves. We love our "Outlook calendars" and day planners here in Midian; but, sometimes we need to remind ourselves that retreat is not just a "once a year" thing; it is an essential part of daily living.