Living Deliberately

we recently discussed the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson in my American Humanities class. I have always had a real love for the ideas that those men emphasized. Life truly should be simplified. It is meant to be enjoyed, not just gotten through. That is all incredibly cliche, and there are probably a million quotes inscribed on painted boards destined for living room walls that preach those notions. What stands out to me, though, is that despite so many of us being warmed by such ideas and loving the thought of meaningful living, so few of us actually do anything to apply those ideas into our lives. I am guilty. As we sat in class discussing this, I thought about how much I love Thoreau's views on life, but then realized that although I think that is exactly how life deserves to be lived, I was just going to go straight to work, work like mad, run home and stress over schoolwork. There is so much pressure. There is such a pattern of urgency and high demand in our society today that no matter how much a person believes that life is meant to be enjoyed at a peaceful pace, they will still find themselves striving for something; working and straining to achieve or to progress in some way. Sure anyone can manage to read more books or to go on more walks, but no one ever seems to attain to a life truly lived in a deliberate fashion. I have found, though, that love seems to be the greatest aid in moving towards that blissful state of existence. As I fall more and more in love, I find joy more easily. I seem to get more out of every day. And although the pressing matters in my life only seem to be piling higher, the pressure doesn't grow. Having someone to always walk at your side means that no matter how long the list of worries and concerns gets, there will always be at least one thing that is absolutely perfect and is just the way you want it to be. There is a lot of uncertainty in my very near future. But I don't ever feel intimidated by it because I know that everything is going to work out for my good. I've said it a million times, and I'll say it at least ten more; I can find immense peace in knowing that if I strive to take care of everything within my control and work hard, everything will end up where it needs to. It sounds foolishly optimistic, I'm sure, to many. But I believe it. I remain calm in knowing that I don't have to have every answer and I don't have to be able to do it all. I just need to do what I can, and know that everything will end up where it needs to be. Love keeps it all in perspective... Love is my leisurely walk in the woods without a care in the world.