Thoreau claims we’re not completely immersed in reality and to get there, to our own personal reality, we need to figure out our purpose. He writes, “In eternity there is indeed something true and sublime. But all these times and places and occasions are now and here…And we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us…whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us.” Much like the eastern philosophy of Buddhism which values the present moment as a way towards deeper understanding, Thoreau says that truths are not only found in eternity, but in the “now and here.” It is our duty to recognize meaning in each moment, if we are to come to a better understanding of our self and the “track” that “is laid for us.” Henry David Thoreau
Love that! And, while I've never considered myself philosophically enlightened, I totally get this...especially as I get older. Our challenges get greater, as our life on earth grows shorter..fortunately our insights also get greater, and we are able to take the time to appreciate all that is truly a gift from God on earth. We learn to appreciate the simplicity of life. And I think find more purpose in the time we have while we're here. I now take the time to smell the IRISES (yesterday), and appreciate the blue sky behind the clouds, and the promise that each new spring brings. I know God created them, and us, all for the purpose of living to appreciate the beauty that is life.
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