"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake. Not by mechanical aids but by an infinite expectation of the dawn... I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful but it is far more glorious to carve the very atmosphere and medium through which we look... To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour..." Where I Lived, and What I Lived For Walden H.D.Thoreau