Not Walden Pond

...but a lovely experience nonetheless.

"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."

~ Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau wanted to get the most from his life by

determining what was really important,

and he did that by removing himself

somewhat from the normal life of

Concord, Massachusetts in the 1840's.

One side of this was economic:

he reduced his material needs by living simply,

so that he would not have to spend much time

supporting a lifestyle that he did not need or care about.

The other side was spiritual,

not unlike the spiritual retreats

of eastern and western religions.