Jacob Helfman
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-helfman
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
― Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
― Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Bramin, priest of Brahma and Vishnu and Indra, who still sits in his temple on the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.”
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.”
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
― Walden or, Life in the Woods
Outdoor Conservation Book Club
— 374 members
— last activity Apr 07, 2026 07:42PM
This concept started as a personal challenge to myself to read more science books, but challenges are always more fun with friends! We'll read 1 book ...more
Bird Nerd Book Club
— 44 members
— last activity Aug 08, 2025 03:08PM
This group is for birders who read! Join in to discuss books that are bird-related. Could be field guides, novels, non-fiction, and more. There are lo ...more
Animal Book Club
— 625 members
— last activity Apr 10, 2026 08:07AM
Love animals? This is the place for you! We read and discuss animal-themed books, talk to authors and experts, hold giveaways! In ALDF's Animal Book C ...more
Spiritual Geeks
— 38 members
— last activity Dec 20, 2025 02:51PM
A Group dedicated to reading of Spiritual Books, Philosophy, Metaphysics to gain insight into various schools of thoughts fathoming the Truth and natu ...more
Novel, Coffee, Hipsters, Doo-wop, Rockabilly, Beatniks, Jazz, Classical or Stories with a Vintage feel
— 35 members
— last activity May 20, 2023 01:13AM
The title says it all lol but really, don't you sometimes like to escape from our harsh reality and judgmental society by reading short novels with el ...more
Jacob’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Jacob’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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