(no subject)

[thoreau]

I have been re-reading Thoreau's essays narrating a boat trip Thoreau took with his brother in 1839. (A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers) Thoreau talks on a multitude of subjects including literature, philosophy, Native American and Puritan histories of New England, friends, and a diversity of other topics. It is much different in tone from his famous book "Walden" (etext)or my other favorite of his "Walking". (etext)

This passage from the the chapter "Friday" is one I've been thinking over and contemplating...

The shadows chased one another swiftly over wood and meadow, and their alternation harmonized with our mood. We could distinguish the clouds which cast each one, though never so high in the heavens. When a shadow flits across the landscape of the soul, where is the substance? Probably, if we were wise enough, we should see to what virtue we are indebted for any happier moment we enjoy. No doubt we have earned it at some time; for the gifts of Heaven are never quite gratuitous. The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth. The wood which we now mature, when it becomes virgin mould, determines the character of our second growth, whether that be oaks or pines. Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it?

There are so many gems in this - its one of my favorite of all Thoreau passages.

"...the constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth..."

His description of the shadow as a mingled representation of our grief - and how it lays lower at sunset, less at midday. It's been on my mind. The talk of how you pick up your grief or your "struggle" and turn it into a shield against adversity. and also - that you can't run from your struggle or your grief - no matter which way you turn - there it is - casting a shadow in the sun as part of who you are.

I often discuss the parallels of Thoreau's thought and the evolution of my spiritual sensitivities - how Thoreau seemed to be influenced (albeit not intentionally in his era) by Eastern thoughts - using nature as his place to meditate and find the spirit or discovery of self.

Henry David Thoreau's writings have four "distinct subjects", which I paraphrase slightly as:

• The life of quiet desperation most men live;


• The economic fallacy that is responsible for their condition;


• The delights yielded from a simple life close to Nature, and


• The higher laws which people intuitively realize from a gentle life in Nature.

These relate closely to the 'Four Noble Truths' of Buddhist philosophy:

• Life means suffering.


• The origin of suffering is attachment.


• The cessation of suffering is attainable.


• The path to the cessation of suffering.

The parallels really resonate with me, being a relatively new student of Buddhism and meditative practice. Not that Thoreau was a Buddhist, mind you, but he was familiar with many Eastern and Oriental scriptures, as were many of his transcendentalist contemporaries - Emerson and Whitman in particular. Thoreau and his friends were actually more familiar with Hindu texts initially and Thoreau wrote enthusiastically about them.

In Walden, Thoreau laid out his belief in the value of the contemplative "here and now" - a focus on the present that echoes Buddhist attitude. In Concord and Merrimack he is joyful at recording his moments of self reflection using the almost perfect metaphor of the water never lying to you as you stare into it. He uses the reflection metaphor to discuss almost every topic - are we brave enough to look into the waters or into the sky - and accept the truth that Nature provides us?

This attitude was one reason Thoreau was one of Gandhi's favourite writers. In fact, Gandhi quoted from Thoreau's Civil Disobedience in his own prison writings. But where Thoreau saw his philosophy as that of an individual's conscience, Gandhi translated it into a vehicle for mass political action. Thoreau leaned towards passive political protest; Gandhi towards active.

I suppose these days - in my life - this is why Thoreau' "influence" continues to speak to me. When I lived in Idaho - I was active and enjoyed the role of political roadblock for the religious right. (so much that it ended my relationship with Jon (amongst other reasons)) Since moving to San Francisco - I've worked towards a much more passive activity. (can those two words coexist next to one another?) I've worked to improve and short up my OWN base of spiritual and mental strength for that un-named next thing.

There have been a few times in my life where I KNEW I was on the verge of the next big project. When the short story that eventually became House of Wolves first was written; when I first stepped inside the Idaho Legislature; and last year when I turned 40 - - the whole past year has felt like a storing of energy in preparation for something huge. Of course, the problem with storing up energy is not to let it erupt like a capacitor. but I know that 2008-2009 is going to be something new, something worth the preparation. I'm glad I have friends to discuss things with like this; and folks that don't scratch their heads when I talk about my spiritual energy starting to build. I've been churning around that "...constant abrasion and decay..." in my own life - and wondering what will start to grow in the soil it has created in front of me.

Thoreau died in 1862. When a friend asked him on his deathbed if he had made his peace with God he responded, more like a Zen master than a Transcendentalist, that he was not aware they had quarreled.