This idea is from Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, published in 1854. Walden is a book about a man who spends 2 years and 2 months living alone in a cabin in the woods next to a pond. Read my mini-review and overall impressions here.
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, and it may be that he who bestows the largest amount of time and money on the needy is doing the most by his mode of life to produce that misery which he strives in vain to relieve.
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, and it may be that he who bestows the largest amount of time and money on the needy is doing the most by his mode of life to produce that misery which he strives in vain to relieve.
~Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Whilst discussing how we might improve the human condition, a friend recently asked me: If you wish to help humanity, why don't you abandon these intellectual pursuits and instead become an EMT? He said that EMTs are actually out there in the world making a tangible difference.
An EMT, I said, is a noble profession, and there is no doubt that we need them, but that I was not suited for it. There is a place for everyone in society, and my strengths would be better utilized elsewhere. And as Thoreau would say, EMTs are merely hacking at the branches of human suffering, rather than striking at the root. What if Jonas Salk (inventor of the Polio vaccine) had become an EMT? Perhaps he would have temporarily given relief to thousands of people, but by creating the polio vaccine, he saved the lives of millions. What if Thoreau had become an EMT?
Thoreau was harshly criticized by even his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson for not being "ambitious" enough: for spending his time living in cabins and cultivating beans. From his eulogy address at Thoreau's funeral:
"Had his genius been only contemplative, he had been fitted to his life, but with his energy and practical ability he seemed born for great enterprise and for command; and I so much regret the loss of his rare powers of action, that I cannot help counting it a fault in him that he had no ambition. Wanting this, instead of engineering for all America, he was the captain of a huckleberry party. Pounding beans is good to the end of pounding empires one of these days; but if, at the end of years, it is still only beans!"
Thoreau's works were largely considered unremarkable during their time, and it was only after his death that they grew in popularity and influence. Today, his works reach across the centuries and continue to touch people's lives. Perhaps if Thoreau had become an EMT he would have appeared more ambitious to his contemporaries, but he wouldn't have had the effect that he still continues to exert.
What Next?
See more ideas from Walden
See more ideas from Henry David Thoreau
Read Walden Online for Free
Learn more, read reviews about Walden on Amazon
Whilst discussing how we might improve the human condition, a friend recently asked me: If you wish to help humanity, why don't you abandon these intellectual pursuits and instead become an EMT? He said that EMTs are actually out there in the world making a tangible difference.
An EMT, I said, is a noble profession, and there is no doubt that we need them, but that I was not suited for it. There is a place for everyone in society, and my strengths would be better utilized elsewhere. And as Thoreau would say, EMTs are merely hacking at the branches of human suffering, rather than striking at the root. What if Jonas Salk (inventor of the Polio vaccine) had become an EMT? Perhaps he would have temporarily given relief to thousands of people, but by creating the polio vaccine, he saved the lives of millions. What if Thoreau had become an EMT?
Thoreau was harshly criticized by even his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson for not being "ambitious" enough: for spending his time living in cabins and cultivating beans. From his eulogy address at Thoreau's funeral:
"Had his genius been only contemplative, he had been fitted to his life, but with his energy and practical ability he seemed born for great enterprise and for command; and I so much regret the loss of his rare powers of action, that I cannot help counting it a fault in him that he had no ambition. Wanting this, instead of engineering for all America, he was the captain of a huckleberry party. Pounding beans is good to the end of pounding empires one of these days; but if, at the end of years, it is still only beans!"
Thoreau's works were largely considered unremarkable during their time, and it was only after his death that they grew in popularity and influence. Today, his works reach across the centuries and continue to touch people's lives. Perhaps if Thoreau had become an EMT he would have appeared more ambitious to his contemporaries, but he wouldn't have had the effect that he still continues to exert.
What Next?
See more ideas from Walden
See more ideas from Henry David Thoreau
Read Walden Online for Free
Learn more, read reviews about Walden on Amazon
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Do you agree with this idea? Perhaps you like the idea but you disagree with my interpretation? Let your voice be heard.