This is one of my most favorite quotes and Thoreau is one of my favorite writers.
While this might have been true in his times, it is not true in most parts of the world. The richest Indian Ambani, with an estimated net worth of over 50 billion USD, cannot breathe clean air from his palatial high rise compound in Mumbai. The air is so polluted. All the money in the world cannot buy him clean air. Air is free but clean air?
Water is our basic necessity. Can people in places such as India drink clean water? In those times, people used to take bath in rivers. Can someone imagine entering Narmada river in Delhi? It is so polluted and toxic that one would get lot of health issues if they come in contact with the water, forget drinking. Water is free but clean water?
Walking is one of the best physical activities ever. Even Thoreau calls walking as an act of sacred pilgrimage and a crusade. Tolstoy has written extensively about walking and recommends oneself to immerse in nature while walking. But is this a possibility in highly polluted, congested and tree less cities in countries such as India. On top of it, people work crazy long hours sitting in a desk even on weekends. Walking is free but can we walk freely?
Meditation calms our mind and helps us to live in the present. Modern day greats such as Novak Djokovic practice meditation to help themselves bounce back from a failure, accept the present and quickly bounce back. But there is so much noise everywhere, such easy access to binge habits ranging from Youtube to Netflix aided by easy access to phones. In addition, there is excessive pressure and stress at workplaces. Meditation is free but can we meditate easily?
The world is losing many good things, most importantly the wild(the nature) and the things that people were freely accessing are getting expensive.
So I would ask the question back to Thoreau -