Simple Life Lessons from Walden by Henry David Thoreau (Part 1)

As I continue to read Henry David Thoreau's “Walden,” I must admit that life in 1854 was very different from today's life, and I would never want to go back to those days of hardship and sacrifice, however simple it may seem. However, I found that there are similarities in our views on dissatisfaction, disorganization and discomfort.

As with those that have passed before us, we make difficult choices; some of them were made simply out of habit and others who ultimately enslaved us in our possessions, pushing us deeper into debt. We fill our environment more than we need, looking for ways to stop lenders. In fact, we are indebted because we confuse vital needs with affordable luxury items.

Toro said: “It is desirable that a person live so compact and prepared that if the enemy takes the city, he can safely leave the gate empty-handed.”

How many of us in an emergency can just get up and go without blemish without anxiety? For many of us, it would be difficult to determine which things of value or necessity we must seize if we are forced to free our homes and offices.

We were told that vital needs are food, shelter, clothing and fuel. Toro expands this concept when he states: “People are attached to things beyond necessity, when these things become so important that we never try to get along.”

Moreover, today it is important to know the difference between necessity and luxury, if we really strive for a carefree, simple life. Our purchasing power and available options are much more than in the days of Toro. These abundance of choices have obscured the line between needs and requirements.

I wrote this before, but I have to repeat it because it gives you the opportunity to think about the importance of investing in life, rather than buying a lifestyle. So, consider the following:

“We need to eat, but we don't need filet mignon.”

“We need to get dressed, but we don’t need overfilled cabinets and drawers.”

- We need shelter and home comfort, but we may not need a house of 4000 sq. M. Feet

- We need a vehicle to get to work, but we do not need a Mercedes.

Consider the words of Toro carefully. "While civilization improved our homes, it did not equally improve the people who should inhabit them."

I urge you to consider what is really necessary and to evade the habits of lifestyle and the consequences of duty. Take the time to understand what is least of all the best. Less domestic clutter means less time to clean up and less to look for when you are looking for something. Do what Toro did: he threw on the table pieces of limestone that required daily dusting. All he really wanted to do was sit in the open air, because “dust is not gathering on the grass!”