Walking by Henry David Thoreau

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “In Wildness is the Preservation of the World” comes from? Many people know that Henry David Thoreau wrote those words, but in what context? It comes from Walking, which was originally a lecture. After Thoreau died in 1862, Walking was published in The Atlantic. The lecture-turned-essay is from the era of Transcendentalism and explores the spiritual connection between humans and wild nature. As the title suggests, it also explores the value of the act of walking itself as a way to connect with the world and gain deeper insight into life — an intellectual awakening of sorts. With its overarching theme of spending as much time as possible in nature being good for you and good for society, I find Walking as relevant today as when it was published over 160 years ago.

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