Lessons from White and Thoreau on living our one life
In the mid-19th century, renowned American philosopher Henry David Thoreau spent two years, two months and two days living in a tiny cabin he built in the woods surrounding Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Part social experiment and part spiritual quest, he lived in simple, spartan-like conditions and wrote of his observations and reflections in his memoir, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, first published in 1854.
The explanation Thoreau gave for such an experiment: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Walden, p. 90).
Living deliberately. This idea is characterised by developing the “power to think and do,” a phrase that originates in Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneer Ellen White’s book Education. Avondale provides young adults with the opportunity to, as White says, train youth to be thinkers—not mere reflectors of the thoughts of others.
Our position statement for 2016 is One Life, based on the idea of living the one life we are given to the full. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (The Message).
The mission of Avondale encourages young adults to flourish and grow in a safe place—a place where they can make and learn from mistakes, where students can realise and fulfil their dreams. But this mission doesn’t finish when you graduate or leave this place—as former staff members and students, we believe this mission still applies to you.
Living the one life we are given to the full is also the focus of our Annual Appeal. The Lifestyle Reseach Centre at Avondale is studying the role health and wellbeing plays in leading long and happy lives, and we are proud to be offering the Graduate Certificate and the Graduate Diploma of Lifestyle Medicine, the first of their kind in the world. I invite you to support the appeal, and the work of the Lifestyle Research Centre.
As Avondale enters its 119th year, it is my wish that you will seek to live deliberately, in whatever corner of the world you are in. Thank you for letting us be part of your life’s journey.
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