A Thoreau Meditation: 3 Signs You Need To Uncomplicate Your Life

Reflecting on Henry David Thoreau's Walden in the contemporary context to see whether his philosophy of a simple life has aged well to suit the trials and tribulations of this day and age.

Take a shot for every statement you relate to:

1. Working day and night for basic needs – food, shelter, clothing – has begun to weigh on you
2. Your free time is bogged down by worry, and you no longer know what it is to feel carefree
3. Leisure and learning have fallen to the wayside in favour of the ceaseless rat race
4. You have become desensitised to the stimuli of the world around you, your senses numbed
5. You regularly experience deep, aching loneliness despite craving the pleasure of solitude

Done? Now, whether your nerves have been settled by the warmth of 1 shot, or you’re fast approaching inebriation from downing 5 — this is a give or take a (desolate, thought-provoking) summary of our lives today.

And as you read this, if you too are drawn like a moth to the flame of a different, more meaningful life, then you are ready to confront the hypothesis Henry David Thoreau posited in his magnum opus Walden:

Could we survive, possibly even thrive, by stripping away all superfluous luxuries, living a plain, simple life in radically reduced conditions?

A short summary of Walden by Thoreau

When he ventured into the woodlands as a social experiment, Thoreau confronted what he deemed “the essential facts of life”. In a series of essays, he meditated on the natural world, individualism, leisure, economy, and self-reliance — all set against the backdrop of the eponymous Walden Pond.

For 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days, Thoreau retreated from urbanity, cosmopolitan culture, and industrialisation to “live deliberately”. He built a cabin near Walden Pond, grew his own food, read and reflected, and above all, lived a simple life.

Indeed, that is the virtue Thoreau extolled time and again: There is value in simplicity. And unless you remain intoxicated after the drinking game that set up this expedition into Thoreau’s philosophy, here are 3 signs that you are complicating your life.

Sign #1: Your aspirations are driven by a need for validation

According to Thoreau, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

As you chase arbitrary career goals, followers on social media, and mindless entertainment, you are losing the pieces of yourself that are most important. So much so, your true aspirations have been replaced by desperation. The need to impress others. The urge to hoard power. The desire to have more, more, more.

You cannot possibly escape capitalism – not in this economy! – but you can replace meaningless desperations with deliberate aspirations. You need a shelter, not an address with the right neighbourhood. You need nourishment, not a high-end grocery haul. You need clothes, not a wardrobe filled with ad-fuelled shopping sprees.

When you chase wants, you are chasing a superficial image that is expected of you. They aren’t what you live for; they’re what you’re told you should live for. So instead, aspire for needs, not wants. The wants should be happy accidents that come about when you are not hassled about the bare necessities.

Sign #2: You feel disillusioned by the life you are leading

Grow up, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Spoiler alert: It isn’t fun.

After spending years and years crossing things off a list that was supposed to allow you to lead the kind of life you dreamed of, it’s time to accept that X doesn’t quite mark the spot.

The job in that ‘lucrative’ field is not fulfilling. You have no time and energy for the hobbies and pastimes that you found joy in. There is a hole in your memory when you try to think of the last time you sat down and took a deep breath. It’s possible you haven’t touched grass in years.

Above all, you are surrounded by people all the time, but you have never ever felt so alone. And because the universe has a cruel, cruel sense of humour, you desperately need a moment just for yourself, but stopping means falling behind.

Thoreau thinks that the way out of this dilemma is “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life”. Perhaps then, you’ll live for yourself, and not some checklist.

Sign #3: You are chomping at the bit to escape your tedious life

There is no shame in admitting that the ‘gram-worthy vacays and choc-a-block itineraries you’ve been chasing are not quite the escapes you thought they would be. It’s a simple but devastating illusion, and no amount of #wanderlust in your Instagram bio will make this real.

It’s like Thoreau said: “It is not worth the while to go round the world to count the cats in Zanzibar.”

There is no truer heartbreak than to realise that all those times you’ve tried leaving your validation-driven aspirations and disillusionment-dripping lifestyle behind, you’ve only succeeded in driving for more validation and dripping with further disillusionment. Talk about a mood killer.

So where do you go then, when the world around you tries to extract a pound of flesh in the form of intimidating expectations? Someplace where you can switch off completely. Somewhere that is far removed from your stress-inducing daily routine. Some location that intentionally, soothingly strips away the numbness that has attached itself to you like a parasite.

Consider a trip you don’t need to show off. Imagine an adventure that takes you away from your busy life. Contemplate a jaunt into the woods to live simply, even if it is just a weekend instead of the 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days Thoreau spent near Walden Pond.

How to “drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms”

The thing about the first and second signs is that they are projects only you can undertake. No other can take apart the desperation and disenchantment that have become the foundation of your life.

But an escape — that we can provide. A literal tiny cabin in the woods – not unlike the one that transformed Thoreau’s worldview – where you can just… be. Whether you aim to rethink your aspirations or unlearn your desensitisation, a Tenpy getaway could be your social experiment, your magnum opus, your first tentative step towards leading a deliberate life.

Every reader that has picked up Walden is bound to discover their own prize amidst its pages, but ours is this: "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.”

And if you can’t hear the music, perhaps it is time to become the instrument yourself.