Henry David ThoreauOpening my email this morning from a friend in the Netherlands I was greeted with a reminder that today is Henry David Thoreau’s birthday. With the reminder came this quote:
“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 (born in July 12, 1817) Walden
Henry David Thoreau has always been one of my favorite persons. He was a writer, did not pay unfair taxes, practiced nonviolence and civil disobedience and, as the above quote says, went to nature to become fully alive.
His life and writings influenced many other heroes of mine, most notably Dr. Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Thus it was only right that my friend Prasad, a follower and scholar of Gandhi was here today. He was here to meet some persons on the last Pilgrimage of Peace to India and a few new persons interested in the one coming this January.
After our lunch and gathering a number of persons from Indian descent came to our house to visit with Prasad. There are a lot of Indians living in the USA who share in the vision and insight into life that Gandhi represents. The more Prasad travels in the USA the more persons are aware of his mission to spread Gandhi studies and understanding around the world and to especially link interested parties in the USA to followers of Gandhi in India.
One of the young women who came to visit Prasad was from India but now was in the USA looking to build her career as a medical doctor. Prasad and her father knew each other but she had never met him. She called Prasad ‘uncle’ which reminded me of my friends from Sierra Leone who call me Uncle Bob. I guess calling elders ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunt’ is a term of respect in India as well as Africa. Both Indians and Africans seemed to have deep respect of the brotherhood and sisterhood of all peoples.
Henry Thoreau was a person who espoused self reliance. That is true just like Gandhi espoused Swadeshi, self reliance of community. As Thoreau, Merton and Gandhi said and did, we need to simplify and go to nature to wake up and become fully alive. The Birthday of Henry David Thoreau is a good day to renew this commitment.
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