--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am alarmed when it happens that I have…" description: "\"I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/henry-david-thoreau-20_afternoon_i-am-alarmed-when-it-happens-that-i-have_820012.jpg" --- # I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile… ![“I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to Society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/henry-david-thoreau-20_afternoon_i-am-alarmed-when-it-happens-that-i-have_820012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/henry-david-thoreau-20_afternoon_i-am-alarmed-when-it-happens-that-i-have_820012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/henry-david-thoreau-20_afternoon_i-am-alarmed-when-it-happens-that-i-have_820012.jpg) > “I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to Society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head and I am not where my body is - I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical presence without mental focus leads to disconnection from purpose. **In simple terms:** Being physically present but mentally elsewhere. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindfulness to align body and mind. Themes mindfulness presence inner conflict Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily walks - meditation - work focus - creative thinking Key Concepts philosophy psychology nature Questions to Reflect On - When do you notice mental drift? - What practices help you stay present? A Different Perspective Mind wandering can cause anxiety and inefficiency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupation/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Village](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/village/) [Walks in nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks-in-nature/) [Walks in the woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks-in-the-woods/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) ## Related quotes > [Of course it is of no use to direct our steps to the woods, if they do not carry us thither. I am alarmed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/of-course-it-is-of-no-use-to-direct-our-steps-to-the-woods-if-they-do/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In my walks, I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods if I am thinking of something out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-my-walks-i-would-fain-return-to-my-senses-what-business-have-i-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-alarmed-when-it-happens-that-i-have-walked-a-mile-into-the-woods-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“As I sat there, I thought about the future of our village. I thought about all the amazing possibilities. I thought about all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-the-noob/as-i-sat-there-i-thought-about-the-future-of-our-village-i-thought/) Steve the Noob > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a Freedom and Culture merely civil, - to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-wish-to-speak-a-word-for-nature-for-absolute-freedom-and-wildness/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-think-that-i-cannot-preserve-my-health-and-spirits-unless-i-spend/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When we walk, we naturally go to the fields and woods: what would become of us, if we walked only in a garden or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-walk-we-naturally-go-to-the-fields-and-woods-what-would/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I hiked up a path and into the woods, thinking about what I should be thinking about and almost having a real feeling—a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/i-hiked-up-a-path-and-into-the-woods-thinking-about-what-i-should-be/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [I was walking through the woods, thinking about Christ. If He was a carpenter, I wondered what He charged for bookshelves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-was-walking-through-the-woods-thinking-about-christ-if-he-was-a/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The true charm of pedestrianism does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking. The walking is good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-true-charm-of-pedestrianism-does-not-lie-in-the-walking-or-in-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A garden should feel like a walk in the woods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-kiley/a-garden-should-feel-like-a-walk-in-the-woods/) Dan Kiley > [The true charm of pedestrians does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-true-charm-of-pedestrians-does-not-lie-in-the-walking-or-in-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Distance changes utterly when you take the world on foot. A mile becomes a long way, two miles literally considerable, ten miles whopping, fifty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/distance-changes-utterly-when-you-take-the-world-on-foot-a-mile-2/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to Society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. 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