Henry David Thoreau, in Walden (Everyman’s Library)

, observed: “For the improvement of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of [our] existence: as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors” (11).

That is, we are prone these days to sail away with our observations about how much we have changed, about how so much is different, and Thoreau may just take the wind of those sails. Reduced to its basics, how much has life really changed? What is life about? Has that changed?

Perhaps a very good reminder at the beginning of our week.