Library of Congress
DCL
Long before the economy was looted and the environment polluted, Henry David Thoreau said: "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without."
Thoreau, with his deep love of and respect for nature, has been called "the father of modern environmentalism. He could describe at length the sound of a loon's call, the vastness of a forest, or the way a berry hangs off a bush." Yeah, but could he tweet?
"In wildness is the preservation of the world," HDT wrote. Thoreau was an "early advocate of recreational hiking and canoeing, of conserving natural resources on private land, and of preserving wilderness as public land." Thus, it's easy to imagine him as a leading figure in the green movement if he were around today.
To get an idea of what it means to perform a Thoreau Down, let's hear from the man himself:
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
It's almost as if HDT was envisioning a time when humans lost touch with simple pleasures. Caught in a web of handheld this and wireless that, we might view slowing down as a sign of weakness. Not so, says our man Thoreau.
Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends... Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.
Yeah, we'd invite HDT to our Naked Lady Party, for sure.
A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man's life as in a book. Haste makes waste, no less in life than in housekeeping. Keep the time, observe the hours of the universe, not of the cars.
On that note, a certain Mr. Bukowski chimes in:
At this time, there are too many people buying cars, TV sets, homes, educations on credit. Credit and property and the 8-hour day are great friends of the Establishment. If you must buy things, pay cash, and only buy things of value?no trinkets, no gimmicks. Everything you own must be able to fit inside one suitcase; then your mind might be free.
(When you're done with the suitcase, keep Fido in mind.)
Who else has some words of wisdom they would like to share in the comments section? What are some of your favorite Thoreau quotes that still apply today?
Got a tip or a post idea for us to write about on Planet Green? Email pgtips (at) treehugger (dot) com.
