Liars, we all know someone who finds it necessary to lie. Whether it be about the most mundane issue or when it’s something as important as testifying for the grand jury, some people feel the need to lie. The question I would like to raise is why. Lying is, more often than not, pointless, or so many whom are lied to would like to believe. Some doctors believe people lie because of various forms of chemical imbalances. I believe lying serves one overall purpose and it is to protect.

Natural human instinct tells us to survive, to protect ourselves at nearly all costs. Ultimately a person who lies feels in some way threatened. The subject being discussed can be of the most mundane in nature, but if someone feels threatened in any way, shape, or form, they are going to lie in response so that they feel as if they are maintaining a certain amount of control. Think about it. Your boss asks you what your plans are for the weekend and you know he’s only asking because he wants someone to run errands for him. Suddenly your weekend flashes before your eyes and you feel it slipping away and you realize that your two days of relaxation are at risk, what do you do? You paint the most pitiful expression on your face and say you’re visiting your sick grandmother. You felt that the weekend you waited so long for was at risk, so you lied to save it.

Some people tell small lies to protect what helps them survive in our competitive world, such as their long awaited weekend of relaxation, while others lie to protect a piece of themselves. A persons past can impact them in tremendous life-altering ways. It can leave a person bitter and insecure thus giving them all the more reason to lie when confronted by an issue they feel threatened by. If asked how one feels on a particular day, they may be feeling angry, frustrated, or depressed, yet they’ll say “fine” and be on their merry way. It’s so that they don’t have to face the parts of their past that made them feel that way, If faced, the past may tear them apart and take whatever composure they feel they are maintaining, and that’s what scares them the most.

Survival, it’s what lying is all about. It can be a child lying about putting those crayon marks on the wall because the know that if the truth is discovered, there will be consequences. The same goes for adults. We try to protect what we have at all costs and if lying serves our purpose then we are merely doing what we were designed to do…protect ourselves.

First of all, always be sure of the entrance requirements of the country you are traveling to for instance, some countries require travel visas like Brazil and Australia.

Make sure you read about the laws in those countries because you want to find yourself getting in trouble for something in a foreign country.

It’s also a good idea to know about their currency rates and language as well. I’ve heard that in some places they might give you a discount if you speak their language. Also, it might be a good idea to travel in a group incase you don’t that the country too well.

It’s always a good idea to know the customs and culture of the country you’re visiting so you don’t unintentionally insult someone; for example it’s rude to cross your legs so that bottom of your shoes are showing in Spain because are bottom of shows are really nasty.

Another thing to consider is that in some country the beds are smaller than they are here for some reason so you might want to get a room with a larger bed also the electrical outlets may be different. Plus, don’t forgot that in some countries the steering wheel might be located on the right and they might drive on the left like in Australia and England.

It’s a god idea to buy a tourism book about that particular country because they tend to tell you important information plus, you might want to contact a tourism industry with in that country as well because they can give you good ideas about what to visit while in that country.

Some more obvious but important things to remember are that other countries have their own laws and government and that some countries are about the size of a state.
Well, I hope this article helps you with your travels.

I find the dating scene to be so complicated and scary. Most people in our society today are involved with online dating. But there are so many possibilities of becoming targets. And what I mean by targets is, victims of rapists, abusers, or thiefs! What should a person do if they find themselves in a position where they like someone, but they’ve met online, and are unsure of what percautions to take? Here are some safety tips for you to fall back on.

1. Always meet your interest in a public place. If they tell you they don’t like public places for
some reason or another. Leave them alone! They are probably up to no good.

2. Get as much information as you can about your interest before you meet. Address, Place
of employment, Bank, etc., and check up on this information before meeting them. You need to
know that they are being honest and up front with you from the start.

3. Bring a friend to watch over you. This friend should not be joining you, but be off to the side
close by, taking pictures. This friend should get a picture of their car, license plate number,
the interest themselves, etc. They won’t know who you know (unless you have their
face plastered on the website you met them on).

4. Don’t forget to bring your cell phone, which hopefully has voice activation. If at any point you
start feeling uncomfortable with his advances, you can just reach inside your purse and push
the side of your phone and start recording. I give this advice, because if you decide you want
to file charges against him for harassment, the police will need some kind of proof.

5. Never give them too much information. Don’t get into bank accounts, where your kids go to
school (it’s none of their business unless they want to start paying their child support), how
much income you make, where you keep your valuables in the home (they could follow you
home and break in while your gone, or worse, sleeping!)

It’s a very unsafe world these days, and people are becoming harder and harder to trust. I know…I’ve made this mistake. And it almost cost me my life! Worse yet, I didn’t have the smarts at the time to take these precautions, and the police had very little to go on. I never did catch my attacker.

Be safe…not sorry!

There aren’t too many reality shows that catch my interest.  There is something about a show where people do anything possible to get money.  Sure there are some good reality shows out there that change lives like the Biggest Loser and Extreme Home Makeover.  VH1 has jumped on the reality show ban-wagon and seem to have the most reality shows than any other network.  From shows like Flavor of Love and Rock of Love to Charm School and The Pick-up Artist.  I have to admit some of their shows has caught my attention and I don’t miss them for anything.  The two that I watch each week are Rock of Love Charm School and The Pick-up Artist.  Both are come on on Sunday nights Charm School at 9 o’clock eastern and Pick up Artist at 10 o’clock eastern.

The Rock of Love Charm School is hosted by Sharon Osborn, no one is better to whip rocker chicks into shape than her.  They take the girls who acted the worst and could use the most help from the show Rock of Love where girls compete to win the love of rock star Bret Michaels.  These girls get lessons each day from people from the business teaching them different things such as style and grace to how to manage a band which is what many of these girls want to do.  After the lessons, they have a task to complete and of course the winners get immunity while the losers are on the chopping block.  Each week as they learn new things someone goes home and less girls get to move on a learn how to become better women and how to act like women with class and grace while working in the rock and roll genre.

Rock Of Love Charm School is a great show to watch because you watch these girls grow from what some circles would call trash or other inappropriate words for an article.  Sharon takes them from dressing like strippers to dressing like fashionable women.  Sharon said it was a place where women could change themselves for the better and become the women they need to be.  There is everything that makes a great show great: drama.  There is honestly more drama than in a soap opera.  Girls are constantly fighting with each other, trying to manipulate each other without even trying to change their lives.  Some don’t even want to change and see this as an opportunity to either get on television or earn money at the end of the show.  Sharon makes the show one of the best shows on this season.  She sets the rules and doesn’t take crap from anyone.

The Charm School had another season, which was done with the Flavor of Love girls that really needed the work.  One girl didn’t even really make it to the show because she got into a fight with another girl.  The girls that come on the show surprise you and shock you at times because they do not act like women.  One even admits she wants to be a trophy wife and wear bikinis everywhere she goes while her friend wears lingerie wherever she goes.  Sharon does her best to whip these girls into shape.  If you like shows like Jerry Springer where there is a fight at every corner, then Rock of Love Charm School is a good show for you to check out.  There are one or two girls that may not need the charm school because they seem like they have grace and class already, but don’t let looks and sweetness deceive you.  It’s the quiet sweet ones  that need to be looked out for the most.

Another show that has caught my attention is The Pick-up Artist hosted by the pick up artist himself: Mystery.  The basis for the show is Mystery takes ten men who are relationship challenged, meaning they have a hard time getting close to women, getting them to talk to him let alone getting their number or even a date.  He gives them lessons of course to teach them different things about picking up women.  Mystery shows the guys how to gain the confidence they need to be able to walk up to a women they find attracted to even talk to her and open up the possibility to get a phone number and a date.  These guys are shy, awkward and so many other things.  Some would call them geeks or freaks but by the time Mystery is done with them they are master pick up artists.

The Pick Up Artist is probably my favorite reality show because it isn’t all about playing a game.  It has more to it.  You see the guys growing and becoming more confident and better men through the experience.  It is fun seeing how they react to different situations and some of the tasks that Mystery has them do throughout the weeks.  Some can be a little rough while others seem to the viewer something so simple.  I first caught The Pick Up Artist in a marathon of the first season.  They take the guys and give them makeovers to help them look their best and I have to say, they do a great job, some of the men I wouldn’t consider dating, then the makeover happens and many of them get cuter and don’t look as creepy as they did when they came into the show.

The end of each show is the final task, the task where if they win they get immunity.  They go into a club and try to pick up women.  The change the guys have from the first show to the fourth show is drastic.  They go from constantly being shut down to getting numbers and even a kiss from a girl or two.  When the guys talk in like a video you can see the change and sometimes the pain in their voices.  One of the guys even cry when he realizes he is failing a little or when he gets frustrated.  I honestly think he could go far as long as he is able to get past his own insecurities.  Another guy is too energetic that creeps women out and then they turn him down.  This is a great show because other guys who are in the same situation can learn from them and see what they can do to change things and become men that women would want to be with, and be interested in at least getting to know better.

Reality shows seem to be the big thing in television.  As they start to lose their cool and go to more change based shows like Biggest Loser, VH1 keeps the cut throat reality show alive with all of their shows.  If you like shows that women or men compete for the love of someone there are shows like that, if you like shows where people learn how to better themselves them Charm School and Pick Up Artist are for you.  Even if you like seeing celebrities doing something different and tough, Celebrity Fit Club is a good show to watch which is something like Biggest Loser, but for celebrities.  Vh1 has seemed to start stretching for shows to keep their audiences entertained and they are really keeping them entertained with shows like these.

My office has been playing “Dirty Santa” each year for 8 years.  It’s a lot of fun, we all laugh and enjoy gifts in the price range provided.  Since there is a Recession this year - I suggested a different gift exchange.

We are going to draw names and buy a gift for the person, but, a gift we think they would enjoy as a child.  The gift will be wrapped, and we will still laugh at the choices - but, after all the fun, we will donate the gifts to our local Toys for Tots charity.

Here is how you can do this with your office or church group.

• DRAW NAMES - You may set price limits or offer suggestions, but it is more fun if you buy thinking specifically of things they would have enjoyed as a child.
• IF YOU WOULD STILL LIKE TO EXCHANGE GIFTS - Add an ornament, pins, or Christmas jewelry to the package for your friends to keep.  You may want to include that one the wrapping.
• IT WORKS WELL BECAUSE - You should get a range of gifts for all ages, and Toys for Tots and other organizations usually provide gifts up to children who are 18 years old.

Best of all - this should be a lot of fun.  Laugh and play, celebrate the season of Christmas.

What is poverty?

Many of us always ask why and what is poverty. When we say poverty, it is dealing of the condition of being poor. Being poor means a person is lacking of money or property or he is needy, penniless with little or no money or property. If you own nothing at all or having not enough necessities in your life then you will be consider poor or in the stage of poverty and it is the main problem of the whole world.

What causes Poverty?

Well first of all if you mismanage the money then it will be simply gonna be gone in months, days or seconds. If you abuse of oneself  like drugs, gambling, smoking, women, revelers or wild parties then you will be poor sooner or later if you cannot handle it.

Another thing is lack of knowledge. You need to have enough knowledge of all the things around you and what are the consequences in every thing that you made and you need to have a solution in every problem you take.

The worst one is laziness. If you practice this then don’t expect for any money that will come into your life. You need to think that if you will not work then you cannot eat and provide something for yourself and your family so bare in your mind that being lazy is one of the main reasons why poverty exist. If just people are hard worker except for people who are disable then you will not experience poverty.

Today I read an article in our local newspaper that stated an independent research organization was commissioned to study whether the left leaning MSNBC has influenced the parent NBC network and moved their reporting more to the left. The study proved that MSNBC had not influenced NBC in that the NBC news coverage was not “less favorable toward republicans than the media as a whole.”

I find the wording remarkable. The organization doing the study must have a bit more ethics than expected, since the study was careful not to say that the reporting was unbiased. It just stated that it was no more biased than the media as a whole. I am certain the media would have preferred the report to say that news reporting was not biased.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find any political news report that is not biased. Those news organizations that favor republicans will spin news reports in the favor of republicans, and those that favor democrats will slant in that direction. Unless it is directly quoted, a report of a Republican or Democrat speech will look entirely different depending upon the bias of the news organization, and most organizations will not directly quote unless the quote exemplifies their position or can be used to ridicule. But all media organizations want people to assume their news reports to be unbiased, and their opinions to be limited to the editorial comments.

So when NBC commissioned a study of their news reporting, the study group had to provide a report that was not critical of NBC. And finding that NBC news was no worse than any other news media was an acceptable conclusion. Think of how simple things would be if all groups or individuals performing studies or reviews would take the same tact. A restaurant reviewer could find that Joe’s Gourmet Grill is no worse than any other restaurant of that type, or a auto service reviewer could find that one automobile dealer is no worse than any other. This simplicity could even extend to the school report cards, as the teacher’s report could easily state that one child was no worse than any other.

But it would really benefit the public if during elections years, such as this one, reports would conclude that one candidate is no worse than any other. Then, perhaps, media news reports would concentrate on providing information on important issues so the voting public could get accurate unbiased information.

*Before 10,000 years ago I was living in a cave in the forest. After spending a day in hunting I was returning back to my cave and shocked to see a big LION sitting in my cave. Then my brain gave me two options either to fight or run away from the scene (“fight or flight situation”). Then I stated running and I survived from that situation. Thanks to ADRENALINE which helped me. But today I have fear of crossing a busy road, I have fear of speaking to a gathering, I have fear of losing my job… But this time I HATE THIS ADRENALINE which is causing so many problems related to health and day by day my life span is getting reduced. IS ADRENALINE A BOON OR BANE?

*Adrenaline is produced by Adrenal glands when fight or flight situation occur. When it is produced it stimulates the heart beat, dilates blood vessels and air passages, breathing rate increases lot of oxygen is taken by the blood to the muscles. Oxygen rate to brain gets reduced and also has a number of minor problems at that moment.

*Ancestral days, a man is to be lived in forest along with a number of other dangerous animals. Surviving in that world is the major challenge. In order to survive a lot of physical support is required in order to fight or run away things. At that time Adrenaline helps to pump blood in to the muscles and it is dissipated in a physical activity.

*In our modern life surviving for life is not a big problem. We are living in a society where the average life span is around 60-70 years. No need to fight against anybody in order to survive daily. But when a fearful situation occurs such as speaking in front of a gathering or loosing your job, brain commands the adrenal glands to pump adrenaline in to the body. But we do not perform any sort of fight or flight situation (physical effort) adrenaline remains in the body causing insomnia and other heart related problems.

*Today in our modern day life adrenaline is mostly a BANE but one should remember that it plays a prominent role in the existence of our species.

Yeah OB is outspending McCain and not pulling the lead by that much in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the country. He averages a 2-5 pts lead depending on which poll you look at. Polls are not generally to be relied on but they do give some indication of the way things are going. Much depends on the questions and manner in which they are worded.

With all the spending and the money raised and the hoopla to get out the vote it is interesting that his lead is so little.

Could it be that his lies are finally coming out? Is he lying when he says 250K is the rich threshold? He has said after all just a few months back that 217K would be the threshold. He was said no one would receive a tax increase now he says it will be a tax cut.

Lately his campaign has lowered threshold to 200K and Biden even said 140K. Which is nearer what Dems usually say is rich anything over 100K. In fact just last year both Biden and Obama voted to raise taxes on those earning over 42K.

Well friends, 100K is not poor but it is closer to middle class than ever. In about 5 years 100K will be the lower middle and poor will be at 60K. Who would have thought you could be poor at 35K? In many parts of the country 60K is not enough for one income.

In 2010 the tax cuts that were passed in Congress will be up for vote to extend. Obama will not want those tax cuts extended and most Democrats do not want the tax cuts extended. When those are reversed then that is a TAX INCREASE.

Be careful what you wish for. LOOK at the e voting record and look at what is planned.

When wishing businesses to take it on the chin and pay for more you are really saying tax ME more. Where do you think biz gets tax revenue? It’s not from their profits it’s from the taxes they collect.

Add up your taxes now. Those taxes you have right now federally were scheduled b Democrats to be removed and revert to prior years rates. They fought to keep those tax cuts away from you.

So far we have tax increased by 2010 on the poor as well as middle and upper class. WE have social security increases and we have capital gains increases and estate tax increases.

I don’t see any plans to cut spending by Obama. Not only that with the economy having problems this last couple of months we are looking at a recession that if government messes with it too much could cause a DEPRESSION. What could they do? They could RAISE taxes in a recession which by historic example makes the problem worse. ALWAYS.

Yeah OB is outspending McCain and not pulling the lead by that much in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the country. He averages a 2-5 pts lead depending on which poll you look at. Polls are not generally to be relied on but they do give some indication of the way things are going. Much depends on the questions and manner in which they are worded.

With all the spending and the money raised and the hoopla to get out the vote it is interesting that his lead is so little

Could it be that his lies are finally coming out? Is he lying when he says 250K is the rich threshold? He has said after all just a few months back that 217K would be the threshold. He was said no one would receive a tax increase now he says it will be a tax cut.

Lately his campaign has lowered threshold to 200K and Biden even said 140K. Which is nearer what Dems usually say is rich anything over 100K. In fact just last year both Biden and Obama voted to raise taxes on those earning over 42K.

Well friends, 100K is not poor but it is closer to middle class than ever. In about 5 years 100K will be the lower middle and poor will be at 60K. Who would have thought you could be poor at 35K? In many parts of the country 60K is not enough for one income.

In 2010 the tax cuts that were passed in Congress will be up for vote to extend. Obama will not want those tax cuts extended and most Democrats do not want the tax cuts extended. When those are reversed then that is a TAX INCREASE.

Be careful what you wish for. LOOK at the e voting record and look at what is planned.

When wishing businesses to take it on the chin and pay for more you are really saying tax ME more. Where do you think biz gets tax revenue? It’s not from their profits it’s from the taxes they collect.

Add up your taxes now. Those taxes you have right now federally were scheduled b Democrats to be removed and revert to prior years rates. They fought to keep those tax cuts away from you.

So far we have tax increased by 2010 on the poor as well as middle and upper class. WE have social security increases and we have capital gains increases and estate tax increases.

I don’t see any plans to cut spending by Obama. Not only that with the economy having problems this last couple of months we are looking at a recession that if government messes with it too much could cause a DEPRESSION. What could they do? They could RAISE taxes in a recession which by historic example makes the problem worse. ALWAYS.

Henry David Thoreau did something we today would cringe to even think about: he spent two years living in the woods, away from any civilization.  He spent those two years almost as a hermit living off the land and learning how to survive solely on the things that nature provided.  Why did he do such a thing; and then write about it?  He wanted to learn all that nature could teach him and he wrote about it so that future generations could understand his ideas.  Many of his theories and ideas came to him while he spent those two years in the woods.  He talks about different things in his book: “Walden.”  But barely anyone reads his work.  I hope to be able to help people understand his purpose more, and see into a mind that is long gone.  With his quotes we can understand why nature was so important to the transcendentalist movement, and the importance nature still has today.  Let us take a look into the world of Henry David Thoreau and see what he was talking about.  I have already talked about what he was trying to say in his first chapter of the book.  In the second chapter and on he talks about being changed and how nature could be what helps a person change.  He talks about different things in each chapter as we go through each chapter we will see the difference and similarities between his time and our own.

Throughout the book of Walden, Henry David Thoreau has many quotes that are powerful and will stick in your mind.  One of the first quotes that makes an impact is not far from the beginning of the second chapter.  Thoreau states We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake.   What he is talking in this quote is that we need to reawaken ourselves to not relying on modern conveniences not just to wake up in the morning, but to generally live our daily lives.  Thoreau already thinks that modern conveniences hinder us from advancing and really appreciating things.  He thinks we need to stop relying on things and learn to do things on our own.  Somewhat of listening to our bodies.  When I think of that quote and what he talks about, I think of the Amish and how they live their lives with no modern luxuries.  They provide for themselves and they are happy and entertain themselves without the need for cars, movies, television and the such.  Why can’t we do the same thing?

In the very next paragraph Henry tells us why he went to live in the woods which he says he did deliberately.  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.  Henry David Thoreau went into the woods to see what nature could teach him about living the simplistic life.  He wanted to be able to think that he really lived a full life, which he thinks can be done by living simplistically.  He wanted to learn the essentials of life, the basics of living life almost like survival of the fittest.  How many of us can say that we would know how to survive without certain luxuries if we had to?  I mean if we didn’t have stores to buy our food, would we be able to go out and get it ourselves?  Many of us don’t even know how to us a gun to hunt for our food, or know which kind of plants are poisonous and which aren’t.  These are the kind of things that Thoreau basically learned during his two years in the woods.  We should learn everything that nature has to teach us no matter what it is.

Thoreau didn’t want to die and learn that he really didn’t live his life to the fullest, and I think he felt that succumbing to the luxuries of life meant he didn’t live it to the fullest.  I see it in my life and the lives of others.  Instead of going out and taking a hike in the woods, we would rather stay in and sit on the couch.  We walk on treadmills while watching television instead of going outside getting fresh air and seeing the nature around.  That is one thing we can cut out of our lives the exercise equipment we don’t need.  Who needs a treadmill when you can walk around your block, or go to the part and walk the track, or better yet, find a hiking trail at the park and hike in the woods.  Save the money and go outside and see what nature has to teach you while you are getting the exercise that you want to get.  There are always ways we can find something to help us learn everything we can through nature and the educational system.  I am like Thoreau, I don’t want to die and then learn that I didn’t live my life to the fullest.

The chapter goes on to say that we need to simplify, simplify, simplify.  By that he means we need to cut down on things.  We need to cut down our expenses, instead of having twenty purses ladies should have at most five.  He says we should have dealings with two or three companies instead of ten or more.  That can be done today; there are companies where you can have your cable, telephone, and internet in one instead of a different company for each one, but Thoreau would see all those as luxuries that we don’t need.  We need to limit our portions of everything we acquire in life; Thoreau uses the example of food saying instead of three meals a day eat one, or instead of five meals reduce it to five.  He says that everything in our lives can be reduced so that we can become more sufficient on ourselves and not the modern comforts of the day.  We need to make our lives more simplified and easier.  Too often we complain of things being hard and busy, yet nine chances out of ten; we are able to make things simpler by limiting certain things in our lives.  Making smaller proportions in our daily lives with everything we can see things changing.

Simplify, simplify, simplify.  Just one word repeated, this could be one of the most powerful quotes in the book, there are plenty of them.  Simplify…simplify.  It seems like he is answering a question not in the book.  It seems so easy doesn’t it.  Simplify.  Make things easier on yourself.  Cut out things that you don’t need, stop buying knick knacks that are useless.  People complain about being in debt, but we use credit cards and buy things on credit instead of just using the money we have.  I have heard a motto that I agree with and if Thoreau heard it I am sure he would agree as well: If you don’t have the money don’t buy it.  As I stated Thoreau was saying we needed to have smaller portions in things that we don’t need.  I look around and wonder do we need everything within our lives/homes.

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life.  This quote comes from near the end of the second chapter which was called Where I Lived.  Thoreau asks many questions throughout this chapter and the entire book for that matter.  He asks us why do we waste life by being in such a hurry.  Why do we live lives that are so crammed with busy-ness?  We busy ourselves with things that he considered fruitless.  Many times we get up and are don’t stop until the end of the day when we get to bed.  When is it that we have time to enjoy the fruits of life?  Do we know the fruits of life?  Thoreau thought many things in life helps us waste our time, and I am sure if he lived today with these same ideas he would have a slew of things that he would see as time-wasters such as television.  In fact many people think watching television together is a good thing to do for quality time.  But according to Dr. Gary Chapman, author of “The Five Love Languages,” it could take away from the relationships in life.  What Thoreau and Dr. Chapman would say we should do is spend time talking to each other and finding ways to connect.

Henry David Thoreau had his ideas and theories based on what he learned in while living in the woods, and we haven’t cracked the surface of the book just yet.  His ideas and thoughts can be applied to how we live our lives today and even further into the future.  He talks a lot of living a simpler life and that is something we all need to try and do.  We are too focused on having the newer things and the best of those things, and that is what Thoreau says we can do without.  He went as far as to say that he could do without the post office because he didn’t receive letters often enough and he didn’t send letters often enough. We can access the internet with our desktops, laptops, cell phones, blackberries, palm pilots (do people still use those or is there something bigger and better?) why do we need to access the internet with our mobile phones?  Can’t we go a few hours away from home without access the internet?  Not to mention that instead of using a phone to call people, we use it to text message each other even if we are in the same house!

We can learn so much from Henry David Thoreau’s words and ideas.  He was so insightful and when you are reading “Walden” you feel like you are reading something that is talking about today not at least one hundred years ago, “Walden” was published in 1854.  You cannot read his words and not think about your own life and wonder if there was something you can do to make things easier on yourself and simplify things to live a better life and not waste your time as Thoreau asks.  “Walden” is such a powerful piece of literature that needs to be read.