"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
As indeed, he did.
Passage from "Walden: or, Life in the Woods," first published in 1854.
Henry David died 147 years ago today.
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I agree with Henry Walden there, Stephen, but it's not easy despite the freedoms we enjoy - the pressures to conform are relentless.
ReplyDeleteSpringtime here on the Isle of Wight is its usual self, by the way - bright and breezy, everything happening at once in the natural world and just not enough time to see it all. Wishing you an enjoyable day, Rob.
Hello Rambling.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been studying Ralph Waldo Emerson lately. He often wrote abut the importance of ignoring one's culture and following/trusting your own internal light or voice. Most difficult to do. I guess there's freedom and then there's freedom.
Even Thoreau had trouble. He was only able to sequester himself in the cabin on Walden Pond for about two years, beginning July 1845. The first real break came in July 1846 when he ran into the local tax collector, who asked him to pay his six years of delinquent poll taxes. Thoreau refused because of his opposition to the Mexican-American War and slavery. He spent a night in jail because of this refusal. He was released when a relative paid his back taxes.
Bright and breezy sounds like spring. We've had that mixed with days and days of rain.
Keep in touch.