Friday, April 8, 2011

Thoreau's Lake and My Lake

In reading "Walden", I came across this quote,
"A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time; and the clear portion of the air above it being, shallow and darkened by clouds, the water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important" (Where I Lived, and What I Lived For). 
          This reminded me exactly of my cabin (my favorite place on earth), and what the lake looks like at night, after all the animals, boats, and people have retired from the beach and the water and into their cabins.  I like to think that watching sunsets from my dock is a little piece of heaven, and I am so grateful that I get to experience nature in this way (which is very similar to Thoreau's descriptions).   The following are a couple of pictures of my lake (Pelican Lake) that I have taken from my dock at my cabin:







As Thoreau says further in this section, " 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."  This is how I feel when I am at my cabin -- My purpose in life becomes so much more clear, I focus on what really matters, and I get to appreciate all of nature in the way that it should be.  Thoreau seems to encourage his readers to live simply -- and then you will have a fulfilling life.  I think I would have to agree with him; when we live simply, we focus on what really matters, and all of the superficial ideas and things seem to disappear. 

1 comment:

  1. Steph, Great photos that show us exactly the point and yet the photos, like the words, also ignite our memories of our own experiences. LDL

    ReplyDelete