On Thoreau and Growing Up

I've developed a bit of a weekly tradition in that I post a quote from Henry David Thoreau on my white board that is hung on my suite door. It's a nice little thing that keeps me sane and reminds me of how I should be living my life. This past week's quote from Thoreau was "How vain it is to sit down and write when we have not stood to live". That really struck a chord with me. At times, I feel that I have done my fair share of living, but at other times, it seems that I am actually missing out on quite a lot. As part of my curriculum I do a lot of writing, so does that make me vain? I am really beginning to think that it does.

In truth, there are two Cody Bruces. One is the academe and scholar---a person of logic, determination and scholarly enterprise. The other, is Cody Bruce the Man. My how he is different! He even verges on looking at academia with disdain (a throwback to Thoreau?). In fact, he is decidedly less focused on the knowledge of the world and more focused on the knowledge of the divine and of nature. It is frustrating for me sometimes that these two are altogether apart. I now feel that the latter, if given free reign would be the one to dispel Thoreau's vanity and would venture forth onto that beckoning path of life.

This reminds me of another transcendentalist quote: "Time is but the stream I go afishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is." Here Thoreau gets to the core of life. In fact, every moment it is slipping away. Certainly, we skim the surface---the coarse epidermis of life---but do we really drink deeply from the stream? Sometimes I think not. A meditative self-reflection seems to be the best investment of time for myself at this point. Here I stand; a man, quite happy, healthy and [relatively] wise. What more could a person want? Troves! Unfortunately, "quite" and "relative" are not descriptors that most prefer in reference to their lives.

I suppose then, the gist of this writing is that I must challenge and even demand of myself growth each and every day. So, my friends, let us all drink a little deeper out of the stream of life!

Best wishes and God bless,
Cody Bruce