Henry David Thoreau

"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 was one of my heroes growing up (and still is) and this quote from "Walden" is one of my favorite because it speaks to self-reliance and not being afraid to spend time alone with one's thoughts and filter out all the "noise" from friends, relatives, and most recently, from Internet influencers, bloggers, and the current head bullshit artist, Donald Trump.

 Henry David Thoreau (born July 12, 1817 – died May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. He is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience," an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state.

Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of The U.S.hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs.


The U.S. Postal Service honored Thoreau with a commemorative stamp in 1967 and again in 2017 with a "forever stamp."





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