Walden Pond

(Walden Pond Photo courtesy of Brian Riccio)


When Justin and I graduated from the BYU, we decided to make a move to the East Coast. Being a bit of a homebody, it was the furthest I had ever lived from my family and friends, but we knew it would be an adventure. We lived in the Washington, D.C. area for about 5 years. Justin was attending law school and I was working for Senator Reid on Capitol Hill. We didn't have much money but we somehow we managed to take full advantage of the living history around us.

We had a wonderfully spontaneous group of friends who were all in similar situations--no family living close by, no money, no kids, etc. Many weekends, we would pick a spot on the map and just go. We took countless road trips to West Virginia, New York City, Amish Country, and the North Carolina beaches.

I was reminded this weekend of one of those trips as L. Tom Perry, an apostle in the LDS Church, gave a thoughtful sermon this weekend about living simply. He talked about a place that I have a wistful fondness for--Walden Pond. It was about 7 years ago that we were on our way to Cape Cod for Thanksgiving and we stopped in Concord, Massachusetts. We stood on the bridge where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired, took in some other revolutionary war sites and then went to a place where time stood still. When you see Walden Pond, you understand immediately why Thoreau retreated to such a place. As Elder Perry explained, Thoreau came to the conclusion that you really only need 4 things to survive--food, shelter, clothing, and fuel.

We all can do better at stripping away the things we don't need, of focusing more on the things that matter. My goal is to re-evaluate my 'to do' list and make a 'to be' list that focuses more on the stuff that makes life matter. We certainly were not without its stresses and bad days in DC, but we lived simply. We lived life in the moment. We forged friendships that will last always.

The next 29 days will probably be far from simple for me but I am re-focused as Thoreau states, to "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."