A day to take a moment Jul 12, 2020

A day to take a moment

"A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate between land and sky." So Henry David Thoreau immortalized Walden Pond, but he could have been describing this calming image of Ežezers Lake in Latvia. Today, the birthday of that famous American advocate for pursuing a simple life is also National Simplicity Day, an annual reminder to unplug, slow down, step back, and consider your life. Thoreau"s most famous work (that you probably haven"t read since high school), "Walden," is his account of the two years, two months, and two days he spent away from society in a cabin near the shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Through this work he encourages us to take a step back and look for ways to simplify our lives. "Our life is frittered away by detail," Thoreau observed. "Simplify, simplify."

© Eaglewood Films/Nimia

palette

Today in History

Jul 12, 2018Provence blooms with lavender at Sénanque Abbey
Jul 12, 2019The ‘Night of Nights’
Jul 12, 2021A lofty lighthouse and a little ocean spray
Jul 12, 2022Bay Marker Lookout, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
Jul 12, 2023Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Jul 12, 2024Mount Rainier National Park
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles, Maasai Mara, Kenya

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 11, 2019Life in a North African town
Jul 20, 2025Moon Day
Feb 23, 2021Giants of the avian world
Sep 29, 2022World of WearableArt Awards
Dec 27, 2022Blue Lagoon spa, Grindavík, Iceland
Feb 28, 2019Over and under the delta
Sep 12, 2018A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
Jan 26, 2023Heavens Gate Cave, Tianmen Mountain National Park, China
Nov 19, 2025Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary
May 11, 2018Celebrating Minnesota’s statehood
Feb 6, 2025Waitangi Day in New Zealand
Jul 14, 2024La Geria wine region, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Feb 4, 2019Sitting down and taking a stand
Nov 10, 2018The Badlands celebrates a milestone
Jan 6, 2023Black Fell in England s Lake District
Nov 20, 2018Flamingos of the Chilean desert
Oct 4, 2023World Space Week
Sep 26, 2023Venice Skatepark, Los Angeles, California
May 30, 2020Meandering through Patagonia
Jan 10, 2020League of Nations, 100 years later
Feb 27, 2019A predator at risk
Jan 10, 2019‘You should see the one that got away!’
May 17, 2019Work out on your way to work
Mar 1, 2025Womens History Month
Feb 14, 2025Happy Valentines Day!
Aug 7, 2024St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights, Michigan
May 12, 2025An iris garden in Tokyo, Japan
Dec 19, 2019Winter at Valley Forge
Mar 20, 2024National Cherry Blossom Festival
Jan 30, 2026St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England