This DVD is an exploration of how the ideas expressed by Henry David Thoreau apply to the challenges we face in the 21st century. Why should we care about a writer who lived 150 years ago? What could he possibly have to say about the dilemmas we find ourselves involved in today? You will soon see.

We all find ourselves in situations with difficult decisions to make. Sometimes we know what is right; sometimes it is not so clear. We see things that are wrong and are conflicted about what to do. We often feel alone in the world, trying to figure out where we fit in. How we can also follow our own way even when others all seem to be going a different route? When can we find time to think when we are so busy all the time? If we are always working, how do we make the time to enjoy the things we really love? Where do we get the courage to make changes in our lives so that we feel more comfortable with ourselves?

We will introduce you to people from many different backgrounds who will talk about the choices that they have made and the ways they have coped with various predicaments that they have confronted. Their conversations are meant to get you talking.

Because Henry Thoreau grappled with so many of the same issues and because he was a good writer whose words survive in books, essays, and journals, we can come to know him through this connection across time and place. Whether the topic is simplifying our lifestyles and eliminating distractions, being a non-conformist when it is easier to go along with the crowd, examining our obligations to each other and to ourselves, understanding our need to have and conserve wildness, or discovering what is truly important in our lives - Thoreau has insights worth checking out.

We have provided you with material by and about Thoreau, as well as questions and suggestions for discussions, for writing, researching and taking action. We have organized this DVD into six sections which correspond to six major areas in Thoreau's observations about individuals, society and nature. You will be able to navigate between the contemporary film and all the other components on the menu, following the path you choose. That is very much in the spirit of this independent minded American author.