Henry David Thoreau Quotes

This evening I went to Starbucks to study again and this time I was reading Henry David Throeau. I was reading exerpts from his work entitled WALDEN, or LIFE IN THE WOODS. I was reading chapter 18, which is entitled CONCLUSION. This was the last chapter and my teacher asked us to pick a line or two out of the piece and say why it meant a lot to me.

Lately I have been pondering my dreams and goals and trying to figure out why I cannot reach some of them.

Here are the quotes that spoke to me:

"That if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected."

I also like this one:

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

The first one really had me thinking why don't I advance confidently in the directions of my dreams? I don't because I let negative self talk get in the way. I let temptations creep back into my life. I try to do everything on my own without calling on God. I need to have faith in myself and the confidence to do what I want to do. Whether it's get my teaching degree, lose over 100 pounds, do a Half Ironman, or write children's books. I need to walk with my head high, not listen to my negative talk or the negative talk of others, I will meet with success unexpected.

The second quote I love. I have built so many castles in the air. I have mentioned them in the last paragraph. Now alll I need to do is get those foundations built. I need to first have my foundation be built on my relationship with Christ. I attend weight watchers and am losign weight. That is my foundation for my weight loss castle. I am starting to set up my training plans so I can do my Half Ironman Triathlon. I am almost done setting up the foundation to my teaching castle and I will write a children's book someday. I will build my foundations to reach those castles in the sky.

Thanks Hanry David Thoreau for writing these thoughts and giving me something to chew on tonight at Starbucks.


Speaking of Starbucks something happend tonight that I found odd. I was at the side counter where people mix their drinks getting a napkin. I saw a lady doing some crazy concoction with her drink, so I was asking her about what she was doing and she was explaining it to me. I noticed the man with her walked away. I got my napkin and thanked her for letting me bother her. The man walked back over and said, "That's ok. Anyone who is reading WALDEN is a friend of ours." I said thanks and walked away.

The only way he knew that was to walk over to my book that was open by my computer and see what I was reading. My table was about 6 feet away. He had to make a conscience effort to figure that out. I don't really mind that he did it, but that just seemed odd to me. That's all.

Also, I am putting my comment link back on my blog. Feel free to comment. I just needed a break to figure the whole blog thing out. Thanks for understanding and thanks to those of you that have emailed me comments.