THOREAU’S JOURNAL
Backwoods Blog;
in the woods and on the road…
Big Yellow
A comfortable breeze blowing…The wind has fairly blown me outdoors; the elements were so lively and active, and I so sympathized with them, I could not sit while the wind went by. And I am reminded that we should especially improve the summer to live out-of-doors…What is the use of summer? Out of doors my thought is commonly drowned, as it were, and shrunken, pressed down by stupendous piles of light ethereal influences, for the pressure of the atmosphere is still fifteen pounds to a square inch. I can do little more than pressure the equilibrium and resist the pressure of the atmosphere. I can only nod like the rye-heads in the breeze. I expand more surely in my chamber, as far as expression goes, as if that pressure were taken off; but here outdoors is the place to store up influences.
A little brook crossing the road (the Corner road), a few inches’ depth of transparent water rippling over yellow sand and pebbles, the pure fluid of nature. How miraculously crystal-like, how exquisite, fine, and subtle, and liquid this element, which an imperceptible inclination in the channel causes to flow thus surely and swiftly…And all the revolutions of the planet – nature is so exquisitely adjusted – and the attraction of the stars do not disturb this equipoise, but the rills still flow the same way, and the water levels are not disturbed.
The mind is subject to moods, as the shadows of clouds pass over the earth. Pay not too much heed to them…By the mood of my mind, I suddenly felt dissuaded from continuing my walk, but I observed at the same instant that the shadow of a cloud was passing over the spot on which I stood, though it was of small extent, which, if it had no connection to my mood, at any rate suggested how transient and little to be regarded that mood was. I kept on, and in a moment the sun shone on my walk within and without…But this habit of close observation, – in Humbolt, Darwin, and others. Is it to be kept up long, this science? Do not drag the heels of your experience. Be impressed without making a minute of it. Poetry puts an interval between the impression and the expression, – waits till the seed germinates naturally.
July 23, 1851
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It’s a rainy summer day here in the north woods. On days like this, the coffee pot is on the stove (of course, I always have the coffee pot on the stove) and time lends itself to contemplation and casual meandering on the computer. Today, I decided to check out entries in Henry David Thoreau’s Journal from 1851, and since this is July 23rd, that’s the entry I turned to. You could say that personal journaling was the “blogging format” of the 19th century. A journaler would write something each day, a personal observation or daily detail, and then (perhaps) it might be posted or published years later as a book for others to read. These days, a blogger can write, click and have global reach in seconds. I’m not sure what Thoreau would think of that?!
The above entry is what Henry David Thoreau was posting 173 years ago today. Apparently, it was a breezy summer day and Thoreau was sauntering in the out of doors by the Corner road, swept along by the influences of nature and science. By 1851 he had already moved back to Concord after spending two years in a cabin on Walden Pond (1845-1847), but many of his practices from the pond followed him back to town. One such practice was the value of going for a walk each day (before hiking was really a thing). Besides the physical benefits, he realized that the daily practice of getting out of his writing chamber, greatly improved his writing. It provided mental space to create as well as plenty of material (or influences) to include in his writing. Another observation of Thoreau, is utilizing nature itself as a model of insight and behavior. For instance, in this entry, Thoreau notes the natural rate of experience of clouds. In the same manner that clouds form, move and dissipate affecting shade and sunlight, so too, the human mind is subject to the same influences that can shift our mood, thoughts or emotion. He suggests that “we pay not too much heed to them…” Instead, it’s important to create a space between the impression and the expression. In that space, the mind can use the interval to not do anything at all – just wait – wait for the seed to germinate naturally, as Thoreau would say, and what happens next will go more smoothly. Don’t be jarred by immediate circumstances, create an interval, and then allow things to play out as they may.
In front of our farmhouse, the queen of the prairie are now in bloom. On a breezy day like today their fluffy pink heads are nodding lightly at me and I think of Thoreau. What can we learn from nature on this summer’s day? Get out of doors, I say. See if you can find your hiking boots…
In the woods,
Dave
July 23, 2024
“Queen of the Prairie” at the backwoods farmhouse
early stage “Queen of the Prairie”
Thoreau journal entry 1851
