A little over 3 ½ decades ago, I sat quietly on a large rock
overlooking a glassy, peaceful pond in rural central Maine, scribbling away at
a draft of my summer mid-term paper for my American Literature course taught by
the distinguished Robert Streeter (now deceased). The paper was to be on the transcendentalists
Emerson and Thoreau. Professor Streeter
had such an unbridled enthusiasm for American Literature that he nearly
resurrected these authors for the summer—Franklin, Hawthorne, Melville, Anne
Bradstreet. To this day, I can recite
the first paragraph of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by heart. But I have always had a special connection to
Thoreau.
That day in Maine was one of the peak experiences in my
life—how perfect it was to write about Thoreau on a pond on the East
Coast. I still remember that day—bright
and sunny, with a few puffs of clouds in the sky, the croaking frogs, the
cattails and the reeds, the dragonflies dancing over the tops of them.
Henry David Thoreau is my favorite American essayist, a
foundational member of the American canon in literature. There have been few writers that at one time
have captured the essence of nature, the American spirit, and helped define
man’s relationship to society and nature. It is fitting that the Library of America’s
volume entitled American Earth begins with Thoreau’s works.
Last summer I attended an outdoor
play Nature at the Morton Arboretum, which was a walking play about Emerson and
Thoreau and their relationship. Held in
the elements, nature fittingly became a participant in the production. The part of Emerson was in fact played by a
descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It
was one of the most innovative and enrapturing productions I have ever seen.
Earlier this summer I attended a
presentation by Laura Dassow Walls, a professor at Notre Dame, whose new
biography on Thoreau is being released in connection with his birthday
celebration. I had an opportunity to
meet and chat with Ms. Walls and look forward to reading her book. I had hoped to join the celebration of his
birthday in Concord which is being marked by a weeklong series of events put on
by the Thoreau Society (thoreausociety.org) but alas, life did not cooperate. Walden Pond will need to remain on my bucket
list for now.
But here’s to the writer that has
helped shaped my thinking in many ways—about life, and being human and
government. And here are a couple of my
favorite Thoreauisms:
- · Simplify, simplify.
- · Most men live lives of quiet desperation.
- · Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after.
- · Men have become tools of their tools [did he foresee the smartphone?]
- · That government that governs best governs least.
This weekend I gave a nod to Mr.
Thoreau during my weekly golf game. I
told my partners that I was going to lock my phone in my bag and ban discussion
of Donald Trump during our game.
Instead, I focused on the natural surroundings and sights, sounds, and
smells of the course. I paid attention
to the trees, the long grasses, the cry of the hawk that patrols the 5th
hole, the scream of blue jays, the sound of the water. I soaked in the sunshine and turned it into a
sensual experience. It was the most
enjoyable round I’ve had in years. I
still enjoyed the time with my group (Thoreau was not an anti-social guy), but
it was an entirely different experience staying in the moment without
distractions.
Since I can’t go to Concord, I
will celebrate his birthday by doing the next best thing. I will take a volume of his writings to the
Chicago Botanic Garden Wednesday evening and find a place to read quietly.
Thoreau, in part, inspired me
to regularly keep a journal throughout my entire adult life, which has been a
great source of pleasure and reflection, raw material for other writing as well
as a source of history for my family.
Happy birthday, Henry
David. I am grateful for the ways in
which you have enriched my life.
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