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Reverse Walden Pond:
Finding Thoreau-like meaning in an Urban Environment
Of the endless “isms” available to glean wisdom from, I recall being excited by and writing an essay on Romanticism when I was in high school. I think this affinity was due to a combination of being an introvert, my nascent quest for meaning, teenage angst, and love of nature growing up on an island with beautiful beaches, cumulus cloud-laden skies, and beautiful sunsets.
I read Thoreau’s words, such as, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” (I didn’t take offense by his use of masculine pronouns.) Somehow, words like these set up camp in my consciousness. As I reflect on my life and the choices I have made since then, I don’t think I used the Romanticist wisdom to provide direction in a conscious way. Yet, as I walk the streets of my urban environment now, in my search for meaning, in my need to connect to nature, I feel very Thoreau-like. Maybe I don’t have opportunities like mice coming to visit and sitting at my table as dinner companions, but in my current urban environment, there are still…
