In the News: Walk On

While perusing the news-o'-the-day last evening on Yahoo! I came across the following article of interest, Ecotourism in Thoreau's footsteps by Associated Press writer Clarke Canfield. For the uninitiated, Henry David Thoreau was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist and philosopher (among other things!) who is best known for the book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Walden was the result of Thoreau's self-styled "experiment" in simple living during which time he moved to a small self-built house on land owned by fellow transcendentalist Emerson around the shores of Walden Pond.

Beginning in undergraduate school, and continuing through today, I had the opportunity to read a number of Thoreau's works as well as some literary essay regrdang the societal impact of Thoreau's writing on the modern "environmental/simple living" movement. What is unique about this particular tourist experience is the way (as presented in the article link above) that Thoreau's spirit and wiring are being tied back to the Native American culture which surely influenced him. This is evident in the naming of the walking tour, Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail.

Check out the article and even if you can't make it to the North Woods, simply step outside your own door and engage the natural world in which you reside...

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!