verified human
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
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.
I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me. We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.
Description
Thoreau explains why he left society to live simply by Walden Pond.
Meaning
A foundational text of intentional living and doing with less.
Purpose
From Walden, 1854.
License
public-domain