Jason McRoy
Writer, Poet, Humorist, Work in Progress
Where I lived and what I lived for
“Where I am and what I lived for,” the second chapter of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden offers a number of now famous lines about living life to the fullest. My favorite passage of that chapter is often only quoted for the first statement, but reading past where Dead Poets ended, it speaks to Thoreau’s role as writer, observing and reporting back on his unique experiences.
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”
Walden, Henry David Thoreau
His goal in going to Walden was in fact a dual purpose pursuit; indulge in the exploration of the barest, most pristine forms of living and to report back for the benefit of the rest of us. He entered into his experiment not knowing what would come his way; the “mean” or the “sublime.” And while open to either possibility, he remained rooted in the greater purpose of composing a record of what came his way. I suppose there exists an element of grandeur in his assumption that there would be value or interest in the observation and rumination to come. But this is the role of the writer: write regardless of whether there is purpose or utility in doing so. Let art and narrative speak for themselves. Only posterity can ultimately judge whether the journey was worth the recounting. While admittedly no Thoreau, I share the earnestness of this calling as a writer; to go forth, experience and share. I hope you enjoy.
