At Walden; for Joyce

The sign is there, and the rock cairn laid stone by stone; pilgrims paying homage to the one who came to discover his life beside the kettle pond.  There too are the standing stones that mark the perimeter of his small dwelling, with the hearth and the ghost of the three chairs.  One, he wrote, for solitude, two for friendship and three for society.

These are the words he wrote:” I went to the woods to front the essential facts of life; to see if I could not learn what it had to teach me.”  And, because of that hallowed book, we believe he found them, those essential facts.

But what was it like for Thoreau on that first day, before he built his dwelling, before he wandered down with his rod and creel to pond’s edge to wait for the tug on his line; long before he committed the wisdom from his time there to the page? What were his first impressions?

Someday, when you have nothing to do, or even if you do, and especially on a cold, bright day, if you are nearby or even far away, go there to find out for yourself.   With your beginner’s eye, let the winter sun dazzle your face.  Let a sky that’s the bluest blue you’ve ever seen seep into your heart.  Listen to the ice groan and crack its relentless melt into spring.

 Walk softly, deliberately like the stones stepping their way across the frozen surface; or sit, cocooned in warm layers on a rock that has witnessed the scene far longer than we will ever know.

Away from the madding crowd of the rest of your life, experience for yourself what Thoreau sought. While he would not be caught putting it this way, I believe our Concord philosopher confronted not only the essential facts of life, but also the Essential; the essence of life and the Spirit of the One who created and who creates it again and again. I have known God there. I believe you will too.