Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived two years nearby a pond surrounded by woodland and wrote his magnum opus, Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The book is a collection of essays consisting of his reflection on life and the condition of men and the virtues of living a simple life in the heart of nature.
I've been reading the book throughout the last month and wanted to discuss some of the chapters and ideas Thoreau puts forward, as I believe them to be worth pondering upon.

Economy

In Fellini's Amarcord, a delightful work of surrealism, a bunch of bricklayers gather around. An older man laughs with missing teeth and sings, "My grandfather laid bricks, my father laid bricks, I lay bricks, but where is my home?", hilarious dark comedy. We laugh. But such a reality was in Thoreau's time, it was in Fellini's time and it is still the same today in my time.

In this very first chapter, Thoreau speaks vehemently against working to the grave, specially when one of the major motivation behind such intensive work is to buy a house in order to own it and to inhabit. He argues that most people waste 15 to 20 years of their lives to buy their own house with modern conveniences (I think in my country the time is even more), while less civilized population build their own home, and live comfortably for next to nothing. Of course, he himself has done it, built him a cabin by the Walden pond all by himself, a fine, habitable one no less.
At first I thought Thoreau was in favor of stoicism and glorified poverty. Which is fine, but I don't like that philosophy, being a hedonist.

But that was not the case, his intention is to work less for your livelihood, i.e. food, garments, a roof over head and put as much time as you can in your passion. It doesn't have to be philosophy, or art, rather it can be any craft that brings value to you. I think I can get behind that. I'm of a similar idea, to be honest, even though I'm too much of a chicken to act on it. But imagine my joy when I saw him confirming what I believe!

There's another route to take of course, to become rich and forget about working or worrying to buy the house. But it's not an easy road and certainly not for everyone. Otherwise, people would stop slaving themselves away already. And I'm not talking about even the day laborers, bottom feeders, if you take a job in the private sector in a country like Bangladesh, your life is half ruined there and then.

However, Thoreau wrote that book in 1854, about 170 years ago. He also built the cabin on the land owned by his friend. Not many people can have a land of their own and start building a house and be self-sufficient. Population explosion made this almost impossible today. Also we are very much dependent on services and products rendered by others more than ever. True, some people are leaning towards such a life, but still, the percentage is very low.

Thoreau kept record of every single penny he spent on the cabin and yearly living expenses. Our course, in dollar values, the money would seem laughable now, but in that time, he managed to build that house with little money that was worth about what a student would pay for rent a whole year and for a shabby room with questionable neighbours. He only worked for a few weeks to fund year-round food consumption cost. Impressive!

What did he do with all the time he saved then? Yes, he enjoyed his solitary time in the embrace of the nature, the fresh fruits and veggies he grew himself, the prolonged leisure on the bank of the pond which had water so clear and pure, and he wrote, he philosophized, he became the Thoreau we know today. :)

I'm more than halfway through the book and I've been enjoying his transcendental ideas and individualism. I plan to write about them in future.