"I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil, - to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society." Henry David Thoreau
The great American writer, Henry Thoreau was inspired by nature and it became the topic of one of his most famous books - Walden or life in the Woods. In the spring of 1845 Thoreau built a singe room cabin as a retreat on his mentor Emerson's land in Massachusetts. Thoreau perceived that the people in his hometown of Concord "lead lives of quiet desperation" pushing to get by with "no time to be anything but a machine". Stripping down his existence in the cabin ti "only the essential facts of life" gave him the opportunity for his mind to roam and simplify this life in a time of industrial revolution. He soaked himself in nature's ability to act as a metapor for life and emerged from the cabin in 1847 a liberated, naturist and philosopher.
He encouraged us to make use of nature and its healing abilities: "We need the tonic of wilderness...We can never have enough of Nature =, we must be refreshed by the sight if inexhaustible vigour, vast and Titanic features".
Most of us have a 'wow' nature experience in our life. Can you remember a time in the past where you were literally stopped in your tracks as a result of coming across a stunning scene? Mine was in New Zealand, In that instant of awe I was not thinking about unfinished work or where I had to be the following weekend, I was absorbed in that moment, free from all anxiety, thouight and chatter abotu teh past or future.
The great American writer, Henry Thoreau was inspired by nature and it became the topic of one of his most famous books - Walden or life in the Woods. In the spring of 1845 Thoreau built a singe room cabin as a retreat on his mentor Emerson's land in Massachusetts. Thoreau perceived that the people in his hometown of Concord "lead lives of quiet desperation" pushing to get by with "no time to be anything but a machine". Stripping down his existence in the cabin ti "only the essential facts of life" gave him the opportunity for his mind to roam and simplify this life in a time of industrial revolution. He soaked himself in nature's ability to act as a metapor for life and emerged from the cabin in 1847 a liberated, naturist and philosopher.
He encouraged us to make use of nature and its healing abilities: "We need the tonic of wilderness...We can never have enough of Nature =, we must be refreshed by the sight if inexhaustible vigour, vast and Titanic features".
Most of us have a 'wow' nature experience in our life. Can you remember a time in the past where you were literally stopped in your tracks as a result of coming across a stunning scene? Mine was in New Zealand, In that instant of awe I was not thinking about unfinished work or where I had to be the following weekend, I was absorbed in that moment, free from all anxiety, thouight and chatter abotu teh past or future.
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