Pilgrimage

Originally published on Random Acts of Writing, July 2011

(On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into his cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. One hundred and sixty-six years later, we embarked on a day trip.)

Walden Pond was lovely, though a meditative pilgrimage to Thoreau’s place of inspiration better suited for the solitude of colder months and not the height of a summer holiday weekend.

Still, there was a quiet walk around the pond, a ceremonial placing of stones at the cabin site, a breeze to accompany the summer heat, and a chance to read pieces of Walden throughout the day.

I find myself wishing for the patience of focus to sit and read more and more and more.

“Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them.”

— Hendry David Thoreau