In 1845, Thoreau made his way to the wooded shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. He spent the next two years in partial seclusion, living among nature.

Thoreau’s self-imposed sojourn had a purpose. He was greatly concerned that modern life was offering little in the way of real wisdom and knowledge.

“The true price of anything you do is the amount of time you exchange for it.”

After two years in seclusion (sound familiar?) Thoreau completed the famous work, Walden. It was published in 1854. The book is a timeless account of his time in seclusion and what he learned about human nature through living a life of simplicity.

“I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

The Spiritual Journey

Walden is a personal Declaration of Independence for Thoreau. It documents his spiritual journey and serves as a manual for self reliance. The ironic thing about this book, written over 169 years ago, is the incredible parallels to our world today. At the time of his sojourn, Thoreau’s worries of the modern world weighed heavily on him. He found modern life to be incredibly disruptive. People were overwhelmed by the subjugation of the Industrial Age. And, that servitude left scant opportunity to enjoy what life had to offer.

But, Thoreau wasn’t the first to wander in the wilderness, to appreciate the sacredness of time and space. Our history teaches us that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed all sought time in seclusion seeking a deeper intimacy with God.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

The Great Resignation

Ironically, Thoreau’s observations on life bear striking resemblance to The Great Resignation happening in the US today. Over 70 million people quit their jobs in 2021, according US Department of Labor. And, it isn’t slowing down. Some of these quits are in pursuit of a better job, higher pay and the like. But, increasingly, American workers are fed up. They’re questioning the value proposition of the grind.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”

After a lengthy opportunity to work at home and reconnect with family and pets, many are beginning to realize what they were missing on all those late nights at the office. And they don’t want to go back to working crazy hours. They want to spend more than 2.5 hours with their children and pets, exhausted at the end of the day. In retrospect their prior life resembles an Ecclesiastical chasing of the wind.

The Great Resignation is symptom of a larger diagnosis. It’s not just the demands of work. We are living through a period of spiritual thirst. People are seeking wisdom to provide meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. A sense of how the “pieces” of life fit together and connect to the broader world.

“We can never have enough of nature.“

Because sometimes a man just needs to pee outside, in nature.

“A Fools Life”

Back in 1845, Thoreau recognized this type of existence as “a fools life”. A life bereft of the search for true meaning and wisdom. A life that exchanged the pursuit of enlightenment for toiling and grinding at the wheel of progress in search of the almighty dollar.

“A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”

Yes, Thoreau was the original participant in The Great Resignation. He migrated to Walden to prove something to himself. To find wisdom and knowledge but, moreover, to find peace and contentment. And, he wanted us to know that 169 years later:

-That there is more to see.

-That there is more to learn.

-That there is more to know.

By seeing, learning and knowing more, we can create a sense of enlightenment through the acquisition of wisdom and knowledge.

Minimalism

Thoreau was the James Clear of his day. His sabbatical mirrors the modern day efforts towards minimalism. Those popular efforts to simplify our lives. To eliminate the unnecessary noise, distractions and clutter of life. Minimalism isn’t about deprivation. It’s about figuring out what’s important to you.

“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”

The Noise

Our lives today are the antithesis of minimalism. We are surrounded by chattering voices: the talking heads on TV, podcasts, Social Media, Netflix and the constant buzzing and pinging of smart phones. Life is anything but minimalist-and it’s never quiet. It’s nearly impossible to hear yourself think-or to think for yourself. After all, those endless chattering voices are simply a cacophony of other people’s thoughts, not yours.

With all that noise, it’s no wonder that people are burned out and thirsty for more from life. There is simply no time.

No time for quiet contemplation.

No time for reflection.

No time to simply listen to your own thoughts.

Spiritual Thirst

Even when people have time, they’re conditioned to waste it. On a recent flight to Las Vegas, Nevada I observed something that would spin Thoreau in his grave. As our flight edged over the rim of The Grand Canyon, with all its grandeur, I noted that every window on the plane was closed, except mine. The other passengers were intently focused on their spreadsheets and video games and Netflix . Too busy to pause the virtual world and be awed by the magnificence of one of the seven wonders of the natural world on a beautiful, clear day.

When presented with an opportunity for enlightenment, to see one of God’s greatest works from 35,000 feet in the air, many are simply too busy to open the window shade. And they wonder why life seems so unclear, so un-enlightened.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment isn’t gained from more time living a parallel existence in a virtual, Social media world or working another 7-day-workaholic-work-week.

Enlightenment comes from within, not from without. It’s the reason why Thoreau needed seclusion. Enlightenment is gained by being in the present moment, expanding your understanding of life and the world around you, and expanding your awareness. It’s the reason why J.C., Mo #1 and Mo #2 went on their own spiritual walk-a-bouts.

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.”

I realize that in today’s post-modern world, many have moved beyond a need for faith. After thousands of years our generation has decided that religion and faith is rife with hypocrites and zealots. Some of that criticism is fair. But, as Americans, we have high expectations of our institutions: government, hospitals, churches, etc. and we can end up disappointed when they don’t get everything right. See, institutions aren’t perfect. Primarily because institutions are run by humans and humans make mistakes. In light of those mistakes, many have turned away from religion. But, recent studies of medical errors in hospitals suggest that as many as 251,000 patients die each year from human error. That makes medical errors the third leading cause of death in the US. But, we don’t seem to be turning away from hospitals when we get sick.

“Things do not change; we change.”

Post-Modernism

In our post-modern world, with waning reliance on faith and spirituality, do you think that we are better off? Better off spiritually, relationally, mentally?I don’t. Apparently we haven’t learned anything at all in the last 169 years.

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

Perhaps what we need right now is to eliminate more of the noise and distraction of life. To find more seclusion, more simplicity, more clarity. To sit with ourselves, perhaps in nature, and read a bit of Walden:

“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.”

Last year you shared so many of my articles with friends and family. As a result, over 500,000 people visited my website, thanks to you. Can you share this article with five friends who are seeking peace and contentment right now?

So what about you? Do you have a faith life? Has your faith been a spiritually enlightening experience? If so, I’d like to hear about it below. I love hearing from my readers and I’m not famous enough to ignore my emails. Although after last week’s article about canceling the cancel culture I did ignore the enormous amount of hate mail.

Click to subscribe to my podcast on Apple iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, my Facebook Group, Pinterest, Medium, and Instagram.

The Incredible Power of Personal Solitude