My greatest skill has been to want little - Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Although Henry David Thoreau never traveled very far outside of New England, he promoted an uncommon view of wealth that is essential to vagabonding. Considering all material possessions beyond basic necessities to be an obstacle to true living, he espouses the idea that wealth is found not in what you own but in how you spend your time. " A man is rich." he wrote in Walden, " in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."
Born in Concord. Massachusetts. in 1817. Thoreau trained as an engineer at Harvard. although he never could pinpoint his true profession. At various times, he called himself a schoolteacher, a surveyor, a farmer, a house painter, a pencil maker, a writer, and "sometimes a poetaster." It is as a writer that he is best remembered - particularly for his book Walden, the vivid account of his one-year experiment in antimaterialist living.
At Walden Pond, Thoreau lived in such a way that he only had to work six weeks a year: eating vegetables from his garden and fish from the pond; living in a " tight, light, and clean house" that he built himself; avoiding unnecessary expenses, including fresh meat, fancy clothes, and coffee.This left him with ample time to indulge in the things he loved best: reading, writing, walking , thinking, and observing nature.
In this way - through simplicity - Thoreau was able to find true wealth. " Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only," he wrote. "Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul."
I found his thinking greatly resemble mine. It is amazing to discover there are actually so many people out there have the same doubt as me and look at life and money with similar attitude. But I guess this kind of attitude will not be a big boost to the now depressing economy under such a consumer culture. But what is the meaning of so call economy if it is all based on a false logical foundation? It will not and will never be a sustainable and a logical structure in my opinion. Like a business with no passion or a romantic relationship based on pure money and sex appeal, it is just not meant to last for the cruel reality of natural law of development and revolution will crash them fiercely. ( My limitation of English vocabulary is limiting my ability to express my true thoughts )
