Walden update

I’ve found a copy of Thoreau’s Walden and am making good progress through the first section, Economy. I have to admit to being somewhat underwhelmed so far. Yes, he makes some good points–all we really, truly need is food, clothing, and shelter, and to pursue even those beyond the basic necessities can poison the soul–but it’s not enough that he make them. He has to belabor them–forty pages so far, and I’m only half way through this section.

My promise to you: When I get ready to write my magnum opus on self-reliance I won’t beat any single topic to death for more than, say, twenty to thirty pages tops.

 

My self-reliance project

These last few weeks I have been struggling a bit with life in general. This weekend I spent some time soul-searching, scripture-searching, and just generally thinking. It occurred to me that self-reliance is more than just getting your finances and food storage in order. There is spiritual, emotional, and social self-reliance as well. And it occurred to me that in many ways I still have a long way to go toward being self-reliant.

So I’m going to start a project. Within a year I want to have a thoroughly mapped-out plan for personal self-reliance, and I want to have made significant progress in each area.

To kick it all off, I’m going back to the source. Well, one of them, anyway. Today I checked out Thoreau’s “Walden” from the library. It should be a good starting point, anyway.

So stay tuned. I’ll be posting more soon as I contemplate just what I’m getting myself in for here.