Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends...Things do not change; we change.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Must have read a lot of Bible stuff.

Thoreau loved to give advice. Some of it was very good. Most of it suggests he would say anything if it would make him sound like a maven. Rhymes with Cliff Clavin.

Caljoad wrote "I love Thoreau, but it seems as if he's objecting to the idea of a friend. I wonder if he intends the idea in the sense that would be comparable to clothing; those who dress themselves in acquaintances as well as garb. Does anyone know the context?"
It does sound like that. But your choice of acquaintance may be the better word for the context. Some do seem to surround themselves with people, whom they call friends, but there doesn't appear to be the intimacy of true friendship in the relationship, so acquaintances would be the more appropriate term for it. If Thoreau truly means "friend" in his context, that sounds like not such wise advice, after all. As for the Bible, in his time, that was like "required reading" for practically every sort of public figure, in this nation. so quite likely he did read it.

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fair winds and following seas

When my father died my sister went for every dollar she could get. I went for every friend my father ever had. I'm confident I won.

I don't know that he's necessarily objectifying a friend, or friends in general. I think there is a double-entendre here: the main idea here seems to be to use the analogy of old clothes, and a person's diminished attachment to them, to justify how friends sometimes will lose the attachment to each other and begin to travel in different circles, while saying "They've changed"....or...."I've changed", when the truth is truly that WE ALL CHANGE. Our needs as friends change and our requirement for social interaction and psycho-social reinforcement change, thereby facilitating our need of different friends at different times in our lives, just as it seemed a great idea to wear double-plaid in highshool.....now we know better.

Some people develop tremendous guilt over the idea that they might not need their friends indefinitely, and they begin to feel that they are disposing of their friends, which is entirely utilitarian, and not how most of us in the west have been raised. The entire key to this understanding lies in his cunning use of the word "we" to identify the source of the changing. Superficially, it seems Thoreau is asigning an intrinsic source to the change, in order to help the average person come to grips with the reality of it, since the 'mean' always needs to place blame and assign causal factors.

I believe, on a deeper level, Thoreau is saying that "we all change", and just as a person has different needs over time, so do the friends they surround themselves with, so don't be upset when you realize that you don't feel as much need for, or attachment to, some of your friends, because they probably are experiencing the same thing towards you, or elsewhere within themselves. It's the history of the world.

But then again, I'm just guessing....

I'll do my utmost for the changeover whatever it takes, whether it is navel-gazing, wild-goose chase, or a milestone.

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Love love love love coco nuts~~! I I I I Island~~!

The statement might mean:
Be concerned with your development as a "spititual" human being. (Spiritual is a word I think he would have used here). As one develops, change "naturally" occurs. Let new clothing and friends come into your life with and as dictated by this spiritual change.

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"Supposin' I was to go to work and learn how to... to read writin'. Well, how'd I know that the feller that... that wrote the writin' was a writin' the writin' right? See it could be that he wrote the writin' all wrong. Here I'd be just a readin' wrong writin', don't ya see? You probably been doin' it your whole life, just a readin' wrong writin' and not even knowin‘ it." Festus

Today I bought new underwear. They are things acquired that should be changed often. Just sayin' . . .

Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends...Things do not change; we change

Hahaha , I can relate with this quote. I think what he is trying to say is that possessions are not important. It will come later. What matter most is YOU and how you change for the better.