"Where I Lived and What I Lived For?" by David Thoreau

       In this essay David Thoreau describes his experiment in which he isolated himself from civilization during more than two years and tried to live alone near Walden Pond. Most of his time, David spent fishing, working in the garden, reading classic literature and only sometimes communicated with local people. He illustrates that the secret of a happy life is the simplicity of living without material welfare. It means that people surround themselves with things they don’t really need for survival. True happiness comes from relationships, which people remove with virtual ones, for spiritual and emotional fulfillment.

      
    Nowadays, new technologies make people’s lives easier, quicker and efficient but having a look at the opposite side uncovers some shocking facts. People become unfit, less social and more frustrated. Using cars and vehicles to travel small distances, people hardly do any exercise which makes them more vulnerable to diseases. They spend the whole day isolated in front of computers and televisions, wrecking their social lives. Checking our emails and text messages without the true emotional bond and relationship with each other is all we care about. But people make problems for themselves. All technological devises were created under the influence of people’s laziness. Everything should be limited but technologies go too fast and people create more and more devices. So, everybody shouldn’t overload their lives with devices they don’t need and try to live in harmony with nature and do not forget spirituality.

 Thoreau, H. (2007). Where I Lived, and What I Lived For. Cohen, S. 50 Essays (p. 424-430). Boston, MA: Bedford.