Throughout history, throughout lives, many have found a sanctuary where they can take a step back, reflect and rejuvenate. In this sanctuary, be it on a mountaintop or on a boat, a quiet corner of a marbled museum, under a tree with a favorite book or on a steep mountain trail, allowing oneself the time to pause and reassess one’s priorities is vital.
For me, it is Walden Pond, a nature preserve in the Concord countryside, that is appreciated by many throughout the ages. Home to the indigenous Algonquin. A resting area for the colonial rebels in 1775 as they fought back the British. A forested enclave for the 19th century philosophers, abolitionists and Transcendentalists, Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott. Design inspiration for the creator of the Bauhaus movement, architect Walter Gropius. A source of play and recreation for the children of the day who enjoy the opportunity to swim and play in its rain-fed fresh water. This pastoral sanctuary is the playground for the scurrying chipmunks who forage amongst the mushroom varietals nestled amongst the soft needles and maple leaves reddened with the season. And to Thoreau, Walden Pond signified so much – and thus to the world the ripples of Walden Pond reverberate in enhanced awareness of our inherent relationship with nature. An enhanced understanding of interconnectedness. Purposefulness. Minimalism.
For me, the magic is the lake, whose water ripples with the gentle breeze and reflects the passing clouds in harmony with the overhanging boughs. Its water can shape shift from liquid, to mist, to solid as the weather cools and then returns to its original self, heroically without pretense or fanfare, lacking the arrogance often associated with being vitally important to all life. The water welcomes all life equally, allowing freedom of movement that is controlled exclusively by the participant’s willingness and effort. The water is restricted only by its rock-strewn banks, knowing without these banks, it would not exist. The water is art, whose patterns, rhythms and attributes have been the basis of great maestros from Hockney to Monet, Wagner, Handel, and Tchaikovsky.
From this brief visit to Walden, the lessons available to a humble participant are many:
- Return to simplicity, to the core values that define your purpose and passion.
- Realign to life patterns, similar to the ripples, that are right for you.
- Like the rock-strewn banks of the lake, recognize the life guidelines that support your life’s direction.
- Be willing to shape shift your viewpoint, like the water’s transformation to mist to return to water, enabling you to see with a new sight yet always able to return to self.
- There will be storms. There will be evaporation. Water is a constant, so are you.
- Be a source of life for those around your edges and within your sphere without demanding reciprocation. The flow will naturally equalize.
- As the egret lifts off from the lake surface leaving behind a pattern that permeates the surface, your impact and flight will affect your sphere, even after you have left.
- Be playful in your search for sustenance. I never saw a disgruntled chipmunk or despondent deer by the water’s edge.
Visit your sanctuary and harvest your own personal revitalization. You are very important and your refreshed vigor will continue to change the world for the better. May you rejuvenate and rejoice at your own Walden.
Gillian
