Like Thoreau, I drank deep from nature

[S]ince childhood I had dreamed of finding a wild place where I would build a cabin and live simply and cleanly, close to nature. In recent months the dream had returned to haunt me, fuelled by my discovery of Walden; Or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. A friend had given me the book, little realising the effect it would have on my life. Thoreau, too, had become disillusioned with the trappings of modern society (albeit in the 1840s) and had retreated to nature in search of a simpler, more self-sufficient way of living. His description of his sojourn in the woods and the reasons why he went there put my own feelings almost uncannily into words. Among other factors, the book was the philosophical catalyst I needed to change my life.

The dream of getting out of the Rat Race, otherwise known as a career, is, for most of us, just that; a dream which crops up from time to time, only to be dismissed as impractical and wistful thinking. Perhaps it is, unless you have the gumption to live your dream as the author of this story did.