This idea that “Thoreau faked it” comes from people fundamentally misunderstanding what Thoreau was trying to do. His goal was to critically evaluate how you s

This idea that “Thoreau faked it” comes from people fundamentally misunderstanding what Thoreau was trying to do. His goal was to critically evaluate how you spend your time and energy, and focus it on what really deeply matters to you, and nothing else: to live deliberately and cut out the BS. He got tons of regular help and support for his unusual lifestyle experiment from his community and friends, and his cabin was not way out in the wilderness. And he is totally honest and up front about all of that- he was trying to live simply, not trying to win an episode of Naked and Afraid as New Englands most badass survivalist as people somehow seem to assume. What it means to live deliberately is different for each person, what would it even mean to “fake it?” I blame kids that were forced to read Walden in school, but lacked the life experience to comprehend it, for this common, but absurd misconception.