Henry David Thoreau Quotes

"I was as much affected by the faint hum of a mosquito making its invisible and unimaginable tour through my apartment at earliest dawn, when I was sitting with door and windows open, as I could be by any trumpet that ever sang of fame." page 24

Thoreau is so into the concept of nature that although a trumpet would be considered beautiful compared to the buzzing of a mosquito, he enjoys the hum of a mosquito more. The mosquito is natural which is more beautiful to Thoreau than the unnatural sound of a trumpet. The sound of a mosquito would be annoying and even make the mosquito a target because the buzz can get so aggrivating. The fact that Thoreau can be so deeply moved by something as insagnificant as the hum of a mosquito is astounding and can be interpreted as the depth of his, almost obsession, with nature.

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"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours even in a poorhouse."

This quote is very much about thinking of the glass as half full. Even if you think the situation that you are in could not possibly be any worse, thinking about it negatively will do just that. By thinking positively of a situation, you can overcome your unwillingness to rise up to the task at hand. There is a silver lining, and it can not be discovered by sitting on your butt whining about it. While you are focused on the negative aspect, so many good oppurtunities could be passing you by. If you have tried your best to relieve yourself of your problems, don't stress too much over it. As long as you have done everything in your power to change your problems, something will change, and you will find a way to move on. Everyone has problems at one point, but human tendency leads us to only think about our own issues. Maybe you have the answer to somebody elses problem, so help them out, and in turn they might help you out too. The worst thing you could do in hard times is to get so worked up over something, that you lose sight of your values and morality. By "calling it {your life} hard names," it only brings you down to that level and makes you bad as well. In every situation life throws at you, there will be good and bad. No situation can be fully good or bad, but if we try, we can always make a situation better, so watch out for the good side, and take a break from freaking out over the negativity once in a while. Focus less on the life, as a whole, and break it down into peices that you can handle. Planning ahead is good, but if you allow no spontaneity, you will get off track and your system will fall apart. By allowing structure to fully outweigh the occasional unplanned things makes life much too rigid. By allowing your focus to remain on the negative, it allows problems to seem out of control when they really are not that big of a deal. Accept life as a challenge, whatever life you have. Focus on making it better, and prioritizing, without allowing the little things to get it the way of enjoying, or at least trying to enjoy your life.




notes on quote two:

don't stress over it if you can't do anything about it
it could be worse
2 wrongs don't make a right (negatives) don't make the situation more negative
calling something bad brings you down to that level
accept it as a challenge, calling it bad brings it to the focus of your attention, seems worse