Crumpled Notebook

So, this past Sunday in church Major Tedd had a really good sermon about grace. My favorite part though was that he used one of my favorite quotes of all time from the author Henery David Thoreau who wrote the book Walden (which you can read online here), as well as a famous essay titled “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” (which you can also read online here). The quote I’m talking about is from Walden in which he says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…”.

Now, I know what you are thinking. When did Melissa learn so much about literature? Well, let me just tell you that I almost majored in English in college. I took a 400-level American Lit class as an elective! Trust me, a Sociology degree doesn’t require any extra English courses. Now, I’m no literary genius, but until you take a college level American Lit class that isn’t required, I’ll have no comments from the peanut gallery.

Anyway, I’ve pretty much forgotten my point, except to wow you with my literary knowledge. I just like the quote. It’s a quote that reminds me to take control of how I live my life and not do things just because there is nothing better to do. I should probably give you the rest of that sentence, which kind of sums up what I’m trying to say (and of course what Thoreau was saying). “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

I feel like livin’ today.