At the heart of Unitarian Universalist spirituality lies New England Transcendentalism. Yet as a spiritual wisdom, Transcendentalism is so little recognized today that it is often reduced to a prefiguring of modern environmentalism and social reform. How can something once so near to us be now so distant? How can wisdom once gained be so entirely lost again? In this presentation we go back to the beginning—back to Emerson and Thoreau and Walden—as a way of moving forward toward a livable future. What would Transcendentalism look like if it were new and useful to the world today?