With the warmth of the sun shining across my face, I began to take in the peace and enjoy the short-lived moment of serenity that settled in me. Birds singing and leaves rustling against each other brought up emotions that have been locked up inside my soul for as long as I can remember. Laying on top of a soft blanket and feeling the dampness of the moist grass, I closed my eyes and started to think of why I see so little of the beauty nature has given us. It is so difficult to find the time and place to appreciate what the world once offered. Instead of preserving and cultivating our world, we have desolated every tree and bush around us with our own bare hands. There I sat, on top of that soft blanket for a long yet brief hour and a half, and wondered why we have come to this point in life. Why is nobody doing anything to help? And why am I sitting here, doing nothing to help, just like everybody else? I sat there, contemplating, until I realized that I am not doing nothing to help; I am someone who is just making a small step forward in life, making a small change in the world. Starting with just one person shows hope in resolving this problem, and from that, overtime, it will make a greater difference in not only my life, but everyone else’s. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s excerpt, Nature, he stated, ”I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.” Me becoming part of
Henry Beston in Night on the Great Beach explains how we have destroyed some of the best parts of nature. We really don't appreciate the little things of nature. He goes in to great detail on how we have ruined night and continues to describe the little aspects of nature that we miss. Beston see nature as something that we don't respect anymore, but he has great love for it. It says to me that I don't appreciate nature. I never sit back and just enjoy it.
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson has a lot to teach about how to respect the earth because it is a mighty force but Nature also teaches what it means to be connected with nature and the feelings that are associated with connection. During my close read of Nature I faced challenges, successes, and a greater appreciation for the writing from a world that is drastically different from the one I live in. One of my biggest struggles while annotating the piece was looking at the big picture and what the paragraph as a whole was telling me. While I am annotating I tend to focus more on the smaller pieces such as the meaning of words and decoding what a sentence is saying. It’s hard to pull back from that and connect the bigger pieces to find what the
"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."
Emerson’s purpose in the essay “Nature” is to lay out and attempt to solve an abstract problem: that humans do
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were the giants during the 19th century American Transcendentalism movement. Their influential work brought upon shared beliefs on concerning spiritual perspectives, government interference, and the ideology of cultural values in American society. Nature has a multitude of meaning if looked at it from all angles, but deeper within nature is the reflection of what you exert while in it. However they agree on the human condition, the two authors speak with different tones that reflect how nature affects the entirety of man’s spirit. While both Emerson and Thoreau practice the spirit of the human condition, Emerson focused his energy on how “[nature’s] philosophical import [is]…unchanged by man” (215.) where Thoreau implied that we are “subjects of an experiment” (1051).
It’s the end of the school day. I finally breathe and release myself of the stress and the frustration of a normal school day. I sit on the benches outside and wait for my ride. With technology gone and no people to talk to, I just sit still. The evergreen trees gently move in some of the final gusts of the summer breeze. And as I’m looking at life’s beauty and as thoughts swim through my brain, I become frightened. Because, I have never thought of life, as a whole, so profoundly. It transforms into satisfaction. Without distractions, I sit with my thoughts and world’s alluring nature. As I relive this moment in my mind, I can’t help but think of Henry David Thoreau. How he just sometimes sat and took in everything, and absorbed everything
In the beginning of creation of humans, nature has always been there as a friend. Nature is the phenomena of the physical world that includes plants, animals, the landscape, and other features that are on earth. Nature has all of the wild and domestic living things. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet that led the transcendentalist movement and influenced other through his ideas and thinking. Ralph wrote “Nature,” and he describes his true feelings toward nature and God and how they have taken part of what has been created and also the relationship to humans. Ralph Waldo Emerson writes the passage “Nature” and he uses comparison between humans and nature and also uses figurative language to convey his appreciation and gratitude for nature.
Aldo Leopold laid the foundation for environmental awareness decades ahead of a “ecological conscience” (257). There have many pleas to reconnect humanity with nature since the release of Leopold’s cherished book. Intuition and reason tell us that living in harmony with our world is more than idealistic—the future of our planet depends on it. The desire for harmony is not new one. Humans have long time sought to live in peace. It is genuine feelings of love and
Attending college, beginning a career, starting a family, and ultimately getting trapped in a daily routine are components in life that many see no means of escape. The lure of living off the grid with no responsibilities or connections to adult life are attractive but unattainable to most people. The experiences of Chris McCandless chronicled in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, mystify the nation, along with many of the people he meets during his journey. From stories of those who meet McCandless along the way, people were able to put the pieces together and make a few assumptions for the reason he chooses to go into the wild. Individualism, living a minimalistic life, nonconformity, going into nature, and trusting oneself are fundamental Transcendentalist principles that McCandless also exemplifies. Two well-known proponents of the Transcendental movement, writers Henry Thoreau and Ralph Emerson, also have a strong connection to nature, that are also shown in Chris McCandless’s journey. This connection with nature requires someone to go into nature to clear the mind of meaningless things, and to open up their consciousness to what nature has to offer them. In doing so, a bond with their surroundings that has a direct impact on their well being and mental wellness. Chris McCandless, as described by Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, demonstrates becoming one with nature through nature’s impact on his well being and mental health.
I confess, I all too well know that living in the digital age, I have hindered my opportunities to immerse myself in nature like Henry David Thoreau. There is rarely a day that passes by that I do not use my cell phone or computer. Too often I forget that the outside world is more enigmatic and dynamic than anything that can be found on the computer or in the concrete jungle I enter when I go back home. I crave the mesmerizing and reflective space that nature has always provided since the dawn of time. Nature allows me to feel alone, but also become a part of something at the very same time. Thoreau beautifully claims, “We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all
Throughout many writings, authors use analogies to compare two indicated topics to one another in a more detailed evaluation. Analogies help the reader to grasp the indicated topics the author compares, giving the reader a further knowledgeable understanding of the comparison. Ralph Waldo Emerson uses numerous analogies throughout many of his writings to create a smooth assessment of the subject stipulated. The analogies used throughout Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing entitled “Nature” gives the reader more knowledge of the topics, a comparable similarity of the given topics and how the given topics interact together to further explicate the comparison.
From the inside out, our town Serenity is a community that appreciates and promotes the beauty of the small aspects in life. The simple details of human nature are magnificent and deserve to be recognized for their spectacular contribution to our everyday life. Through the form of art placed around our town and in our gallery, we highlight the simplicity of nature, and remind each individual of the power that comes from transcendental living. The commotion of life can be overwhelming, but the intention of our art gallery is to consistently encourage and remind individuals of the power within nature, simplicity and their individual uniqueness.
Thoreau wished to open the minds of many revealing the importance of nature “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails” (Thoreau II). In the quote, Thoreau discusses how he learned to live deliberately in nature encouraging other members of society to do the same. He has learned that it can lead to harmonization with oneself, to
This poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson is an exceptional work of his. Entirely characteristic of his poetic approach, it captures the full meaning behind the appreciation of nature, and it does so in a simple yet effective style. The poem is also, in my opinion, an effective rebuttal to the Puritan critique of the Emersonian lifestyle.
Just what is beauty? We all have our own definition of beauty because everyone has there own distinctive style and attractiveness. Therefore, we must respect why some people find beauty in things while others would not simply because beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Now we all are attracted to all sorts of things, but have you ever asked yourself why? Is it simply because it is beautiful or does the meaning go beyond that? I tend to believe the latter is true so lets take love for example. It is the most beautiful thing in the world because you get a sense of being, are likely attracted to the person you are in love with, it stimulates you and you probably feel complete. However, beauty