thomas eakins
1880
Henry David Thoreau died on May 6, 1862 in Concord, Massachusetts. He was 44 years old.
Thoreau was a complex person. He’s not necessarily attractive. But at his best, he was very, very good.
I consider him a spiritual original, a kind of American Taoist saint born in our country. He was an important member of the literary and spiritual group we call the Transcendentalists. I consider him a spiritual ancestor to all of us who are rooted in our land and seeking to find our way to a contemplative life.
For example, I am a big fan of his unique spiritual practice, walking and walking.
he explains it in his essayWalking…
I’ve only met one or two people in my life who understood the art of walking, of walking. That person had, so to speak, a genius for walking. This word is neatly derived from “lazy people.” In the Middle Ages, they roamed the country, asking for charity by pretending to go to the Holy Land, La Sainte-Terre, until the children cried out, “Saintere goes!” . Those who do not go for walks in holy places, as they pretend, are actually just lazy people and wanderers. But the people who go there are wanderers in the best sense of the word, as I like to say. However, some people derive the word “sans terre” from those without land or a home. In other words, in a good sense, it means that you don’t have a specific home, but you have a home everywhere. Because this is the secret to a successful walk. The man who sits still at home may be the greatest vagrant of all. But the walker in the best sense is no more a vagrant than a meandering river, all the while eagerly seeking the shortest course to the sea.
