From July 1845 to September 1847, Thoreau lived alone in the forest beside Walden Lake for more than two years. No neighbors for about two kilometers. They build their own huts, grow beans and fish, and support themselves completely with their hands. Each of us may have a place that really belongs to us. This place may not be prosperous, but it gives us vitality, enriches our hearts and makes us peaceful. Mao Mu described the hometown of this kind of mind in The Moon and Sixpence:
Walden Lake is Thoreau's spiritual hometown. In his words, under such climatic conditions, people's daily necessities are mainly: food, shelter, clothes and fuel. With these, it is possible to think about the real problems in life freely and with the expectation of success. So, what is the real problem in life? Let's think in terms of Thoreau.
1. About frugality and life
"We are poor, although we are surrounded by luxuries", as the English poet Chapman sang-
How many pens did we really use up before throwing them away? How much meat do we have to eat? How many clothes have we worn out? How many cosmetics are really useful? How much knowledge is useless but still to be learned? As fast as possible, the refrigerator will only cause more waste.
Today we seem to be very busy: women's nails need to be beautifully painted; It takes hours to straighten your hair today and hours to curl it up the day after tomorrow. Men spend hours drinking and talking about hearsay politics and old stories about celebrities; Waste employee time; Go out to travel, run to the scenic spots marked on the map, "click, click", and let the circle of friends show off that people are finished. They seldom stop to listen to the wind, look at the clouds, learn about the vegetation, and look at the activities of fish and insects, just like reading and traveling.
Parents are anxious about their children's education and growth: kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, high school, university, getting married and having children, eager to get ready from birth to grave; "We built houses for the world and graves for the dead", which is just a stinking bag. Why pay so much attention to it?
"When we own our own house, we are not necessarily richer, but poorer. It is the house that owns us. " Matter becomes our master and we become the slaves of matter. I can't sleep at night because I don't have enough to eat. Preparing for a rainy day is preparing for death. Human beings live in the illusion of their own creation, comfortable and convenient but far from nature, flashy and dark. "Civilized people are more experienced and smarter barbarians. The price we pay is always greater than the income. The main driving force is vanity, and the auxiliary is the love of bread and butter. " We spend a lot of time making money, sometimes to be more chic, and buy more useless things when we splurge.
Thoreau said that his greatest skill is that he needs few things, so he has time and energy to live. And our biggest problem is that there is too much demand, so there is no room for life and no real freedom. Freedom is priceless, and if we want to get this priceless freedom, we must get rid of the shackles of these material civilizations or desires. This requires wisdom and homework. People live not for the glory of the moment of death, not for the future, but for the present.
People are human because they have a sense of introspection. Unfortunately, not everyone has the ability of introspection. "We always solve the problems in life in a more complicated way than the problems themselves," Thoreau said. "There are three pieces of limestone on my desk, but when I found that they need to wipe off the dust every day, I was frightened. I haven't even wiped the dust off the things in my head. I threw them out of the window in disgust. "
2. About reading
"Studying hard and reading real books with real spirit is a noble activity, which will require readers to do their best more than any activity respected by its contemporary customs." Books are tools for mining the mineral deposits of ideas. Choose the classic works full of human wisdom to read, and build a bridge on the dark abyss around us.
"My mind can tell me that my mind is a digging organ, just like some animals dig with their noses and front paws. I used my mind to dig and dig a path in the mountains. I think the richest vein is near here, and I will start mining there. " The mine of creativity is endless, and it is really worth digging.
3. About loneliness
If you are a neighbor of nature, no, you are a part of nature. If you let your thoughts take root, how can you be lonely? Only lonely people love social tools, and only lonely people have to live in groups. People who are not lonely take books as their companions and wisdom as their friends. In most cases, when we go out and stay in the crowd, we are more lonely than staying at home.
Party time should not be too long. If it takes too long and hypocritical, you will feel bored when you finish. Besides drinking, we can talk for a long time because of the numbness of alcohol, which also explains that many meals can't be without alcohol, otherwise only silence is left.
During the day, people took to the streets to create joy and noise; As night falls, people continue to be lively in their dreams, silence reoccupies the world, and the tentacles of thought begin to grow.
4. About nature
In this world, especially in China, cities are expanding endlessly, and in the reinforced concrete forest, they are getting farther and farther away from nature. Don't think that going to the park on weekends means getting close to nature. "Where rabbits can't be fed, it must be extremely barren." A frog in a well never knows how big the earth is and how vast the sky is. The zoo is getting bigger. Sadly, these animals only have the appearance of animals, but they have no soul.
Only by not understanding nature from a self-righteous perspective can we appreciate the nature, get the real gift of nature and enjoy the gift of lakes, animals, forests, the earth and the sky. As Thoreau said—
5. About human nature
"Like most people, I have an instinct to pursue a higher or spiritual life, and an instinct to pursue a primitive state and a barbaric life. I respect both. " Thoreau expressed the duality of human beings here. As Dostoevsky's novels reveal, people's good and evil, sublime and despicable are one. "I ... want to do good things and get happiness from them, and at the same time I want to do bad things and get happiness from them," said Kristalogin, Tuo's novel Ghost.
Animal sex is sensual enjoyment, while human nature emphasizes spiritual pleasure, both of which exist in our bodies. Knowing this, we won't go to extremes and think that a person is either a good person or a devil. Mencius said: "The reason why people are different from animals is that they want Shu Ren to go and the gentleman to stay." Everyone's body is a temple built by himself with flesh and bones. We are all sculptors and painters. Any lofty quality will immediately make people's faces elegant and perfect, and any humble indulgence will make people rough and cruel.
6. Concluding remarks
"If we don't spend time making up for lost opportunities-we call it doing our duty, we will be blessed. Spring has come, and we are still wandering in winter. We should look out from the stern railing more like curious passengers, instead of just tearing linen like stupid sailors. "
Let's do subtraction in life and addition in thought together, and live like human beings, not slaves of machines or something.
About thinking: look up at the moon.
On Poetry: Opening the Door of Poetry