To live deliberately

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.—Henry David Thoreau

"Civilized" life is so distracting, and the majority of us live reactive lives, merely responding to our environment and the rules and demands of others, rather than living our lives out of our own deliberate choices. That is what Thoreau was talking about here—living life deliberately, which is hard to do when you are so thoroughly distracted that all you can do is react.

I wonder if he is still in the reading curriculum in schools today. I think not.

A friend recently sent me a link to a video that has made a huge impact on my life. It has brought together so much of the information that I've already heard or known, yet didn't have a clue what to do with. This video presents a path to possible solutions. More importantly, it presents real hope.

My hope is that you will take the time to watch the video. It is two hours long, so you'll need to set aside some time, but it is well worth it. It seemed to me that Thoreau's quotes above and below are so appropo to what is talked about in the movie.

Synopsis of the movie:  THRIVE is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what's REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream -- uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.


As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.

Our life is frittered away by detail ... simplify, simplify.

Be not simply good; be good for something.

There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living.

I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.

You can read more quotes by Thoreau and others at BrainyQuotes.com