Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Marrow of Life

Pin It It was Henry David Thoreau who once penned the words, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

What does this mean? What is he saying? Why did he say it?

While I cannot speak for Mr. Thoreau, and I guess it really isn’t that important to me, I know how this applies to my own life…

I was with a friend of mine tonight. We went out because of a life-changing event in the pathway she is walking. This event is not necessarily a good thing.

As we talked this evening and enjoyed our dinner—as well as each others’ company—I couldn’t help but think about the simple pleasures I have in this life. The things about me which I often take for granted. I hope you will forgive my indulgence by mentioning a few of these varied bits and pieces…

  • Eating spoonful of cookie dough, as the sweetness of it beckons you to fetch a glass of milk.
  • Walking on a brisk afternoon as the scent of autumn wafts about on the breeze.
  • Watching a sunset as it sets the sky ablaze in an orchestra of color.
  • Wearing a brand-new pair of flannel pajamas, and feeling the warmth of a blanket wrapped about you on a frosty night.
  • The smell of freshly-baking bread and eating it, fresh off of the loaf, with little wells of melted butter like lakes on its surface.
  • Talking to a dear friend for hours on end about nothing in particular—and enjoying each others’ company with so many common experiences we’ve shared.
  • Watching the stars above you, as they watch you back on a warm, lazy summer night with an ensemble of crickets lulling you into slumber.
  • Listening to that song…you know the one…the one I haven’t heard it in such a long time and then suddenly, there it is again. I love it even more than the first time I’d heard it.
  • To shoulder a backpack and head out into the lonely windswept desert hills and not see another soul for days on end. It’s just she and I.

You might say that tonight was yet another reminder to me that life is meant to be lived deeply—and to the fullest.

“Live life so completely that when death comes like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal.”

- Unknown

7 comments:

♥Concerned♥ said...

Beautiful outlook! Wish I had the energy for am autumn walk...or even an autumn to walk through!

Deo Volente said...

I’m sorry your friend is going through something difficult. I heard it said once “life happens while you’re busy planning” it’s amazing what we take for granted as we rush through life, climbing that ladder, making that dream a reality. We forget to appreciate life for all it’s worth and then there are times we simply choose not to, too busy I suppose. Yet life goes on, waiting for us to live it and love it as we should before we no longer can.

Gerb said...

Thumbelina and I have been talking about these kinds of things lately. I love Thoreau's outlook. A favorite quote since my younger years is: "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."

Thanks for this post.

shoezimm said...

Thoreau's words always have a way of making you ponder how simple life can truly be if we could only let go of the things we allow to clutter our days. Here was a man who wanted to let it all go and get back to basics....how many of us could do that today? Go without our gameboys, i-pods, tv shows...in order to slow down, relax and see what life really is about. I love your quote at the end...I hadn't heard it before but it certainly makes you think.

Anonymous said...

"WOW!"
I stopped thinking about all the crazy stuff in my life and started to see the positive things. I really do have a lot to enjoy...I need to enjoy life more to its fullest.
Thanks!
I love your blog!
KJ

Annette said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
annette said...

Very thought provoking.

Adding to your wonderful list: Seeing a child get "it" for the first time, and knowing you were a part of it.

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