Walden

I have read the Chinese edition of Walden written by Thoreau at the urging of a friend of mine (I'm trying to read the original work now, I think I'll learn more by this way.). My friend is a crazy economics fan, he loves this book so much that he needs someone to share the excitement with him. Unfortunately, I have little interest in this field though that was a part of my major at one time. However, the beautiful pond named Walden seemed really attractive when he described it to me at the first time.

Thoreau is the real person who knows how to enjoy his life. In this book, he showed us some trivial things about nature, such as plants, animals, worms, blue ice, colorful sand; his funny experiences of planting beans, fishing, discovering whether Walden Pond has its bottom; and his attitude of living. He wrote with his sincerity and humility as he required of other writers:“A simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land.”

In Thoreau's opinion, people demand too much from the world, and work hard under the unnecessary pressures which were created by our own imagination. We announce that we are free without knowing that we already became the slaves of our greed. “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” That's the earnest appeal from the author, and the truth in life. “Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one.”, “If it is neccessary, omit one bridge over the river, go round a little there, and throw one arch at least over the darker gulf of ignorance which surrounds us.”, and his wonderful theory of chairs:“one for solitude, two for friendship,three for society.” If we expect more, we must pay more, and the cost is often larger than that we gain. How many people wasted their lives in such a bargain?

The way of living chosen by Thoreau is considering himself as a harmonious part of nature. He thinks he is a leaf or mould to some extent. Squirrels don't care whether the woods will bear chestnuts this year or not, so a person shouldn't care about his harvest too much. He doesn't like the person who “loves not the beauty of his fruits, whose fruits are not ripe for him till they are turned to dollars.”

All in all, it's a great book that helped me unload some unnecessary burdens and let me think about the meaning of life again.