People today look at the poor with contempt in their eyes. Not to mention the fact that they also get disgusted when they have to pass us on the street. Today you see poor people begging on the streets and you can't help but feel sorry for them. Some people, however, think that poor people are the most miserable bunch of idiots around and that their lives have no meaning. But, according to Henry David Thoreau, the poor have some of the best lives compared to all of us who don't live it. The article “Comfort Zones” quotes the Bible as saying, “'This poor widow has put in more than all the other taxpayers' (Mark 12:43)” The poor contribute more than you think. “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau describes in depth how the poor are better because life, if still good, they gain independence and money does not help buy your soul. Thoreau mentions a few times in "Walden" that life may not seem so easy on the eyes. the poor, but ultimately it really is. He says we should all meet our life and live it. We should absolutely not be ashamed of what our life is like. We may not like it, but we should face it head on and make the effort to change it. Thoreau says that our life “seems poorer when you are richer.” The richest people have no contact with the real world. They don't know what it feels like to have debt. That's why poor people manage their lives better than people who don't live in poverty. Thoreau also tells us to love our lives, no matter how poor we are. The rich have more defects in heaven than in poverty. In the article “Walden” by Linda Corrente it is stated that Thoreau “pushes us to move forward with our lives, regardless of what they hold for us.” People in poverty already do this. They are aware of the difficulties and have faced different ways to overcome them. “Walden… half the paper… the ripple effect” he explains “A person is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave him alone. Is this what defines being rich? Money can buy many things, but it cannot improve your life. We must broaden our vision of the world we live in and delve into its beauty. We are all so blind to our own lives. Works Cited. Walden. eLibrary. Nov. 11, 2012. "Comfort Zones." America. Nov. 11, 2012. "The Economics of Walden." .Raritan. 01 January 2001: 107. eLibrary. 11November 2012.Richardson, D, Robert.. "The Ripple Effect of Smithsonian". , Henry David. Works of Henry David Thoreau: Critical Commentary. MacMillan General Reference, 1963. eLibrary. 11 November. 2012.