Thoreau

Thoreau had some beautiful and intelligent words to say. I felt I could relate most to the line "Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have." People believe that to be "wealthy" in life they must have what is equal or rather better than the objects their neighbors own. Whether it is a necessity or a "want", people feel they deserve what ever is better than those around them. Many people feel entitled to have the better house, the bigger house, the cleaner house than their neighbor. However, by continuously pushing and pushing to have better than what is next to them, there is no time left to appreciate and be grateful for the floor they are standing on, and the four walls that surround them. It is not the size, color, or beauty of a house, but the fact that one can simply own a house, and be sheltered by a home. Many men don't realize what a home is because they just see it as a comparable object to the house of their neighbor. A man is poor when he can not realize the luxuries he has, he becomes so blinded by the objects owned by others. Living in such a prominent area, I can clearly see this idea happening daily. People want the newest trend, the bigger house, the nicest car, and they don't necessarily want it because they like it, but simply because the girl standing next to them has it! It can be very hard to not be jealous. But if someone wastes their entire life trying to one up their neighbor, they will not be able to enjoy life or the things they already own. Thus, making them miserable and poor.