"There is a calmness of the lake when there is not a breath of wind... so it is with us. Sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily, as we never were before in our lives... and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves. All the world goes by us and is reflected in our deeps. Such clarity, obtained by such pure means, by simple living, by honesty of purpose."
From Thoreau's Walden, or Life in the Woods
Walden Pond...one of the greatest inspirations of literary prose, ever. I honestly don't remember reading Thoreau in high school, or college, or ever. So when Bryan asked if I wanted to go to Walden Pond...I thought...sure, I love water...not, are you kidding I've always wanted to see and feel the same things Thoreau did when he wrote some of the greatest literature of all time.
Although it's famous and gets thousands of visitors every year, the state has done an amazing job of preserving the area and surprisingly, both times we've been it hasn't been busy at all. It's small enough to be boat free (about a 1/2 mile or more across) and because it's on a good bike route, it's a hot spot for triathletes. Supposedly early in the morning you'll find tons of swimmers taking advantage of the open water. On our most recent trip I swam across the lake and back. On the way back I stopped in the middle and floated on my back and thought about how fun and different life has been recently. I don't always feel that way in the moment of my day when I'm tired and feel burdened with the task of molding young minds to be future social activists...but it was definite clarity. Thank you, Walden Pond, for living up to your reputation.
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