Physical Presence Research Paper

As a child, I unraveled nature’s beauty and existence. Each new experience brought me feelings of excitement and joy, sparkling my imagination and igniting my curiosity. It all seemed so large back then. Oceans appeared endless as they reached towards the horizon. Treetops seemed to make friends with the puffy-looking clouds as they soared to the sky. Over the years however, as I have grown older and life has become more complex, I am beginning to think less and less about the natural world around me. I glimpse sunset stuck in rush-hour traffic trying to return school after debate practices and only listen to the pitter-patter of the rain when there’s a storm outside. Forests and oceans seemed less appealing as they became intertwined with the urban development. In a way, I was becoming more and more distanced from the so-called nature. So, with an overwhelming desire for adventure and to escape the masses, my family and I drove to Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas last summer.

Nature is an entity that persistently progresses to be overlooked. When I was home one day for the long weekend I went down to the beach, then observed the sunrise overlooking the view of the Boston skyline. As the sun rose little by little It came to me that I saw a parallel with my life. As the sun rose I associated it with my life and with each experience I endured in my life I grew as an individual analogous to the sun rising higher up in the sky. As soon as the sun rehabilitated colors from a pinkish rosy color to an archetypal yellow sun it symbolized the transformation a person encounters growing up from being a kid to a man. Consequently, as the sun crept over the skyline it was

In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, Barry Lopez expresses the importance of nature as it applies to human life. Through this he states that humans’ imagination are inspired by the scenery around them. Lopez revolves around a central perspective; Ancient american literature has always been rooted in nature. By acknowledging that modern human identity has been interpreted by nature, Lopez describes how the landscape of an area can shape the structure of the communities and how it can help with spiritual collapse. Nature writing has often been summarised by being one of the oldest threads in american literature. With our nation's aging one needs to reflect on their literary past; therefore, Lopez insists that we find our path to nature that

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).

Humans are born from and return to earth at death; human beings and nature are bound up each other. Yet, the technological modern world has shaped humans to be oblivious of nature and the ethnocentrism has positioned human beings above all other things. Nature has become resources for people and nothing more than that. David Abram, the author of the Ecology of magic, travels into the wild, traditional land in search of the relation between magic and nature; the meaning nature holds in the traditional cultures. Abram intends to communicate his realization of the magical awareness of the countless nonhuman entities and the necessity of the balance between the human communities and the nature to the readers, hoping the Western technologized

It is an interesting concept, nature and freedom. For nature allows us to escape from our time--our societal-imposed schedule, our time clock and switch to nature's clock--an interesting concept, for, if anything, it restricts us in many different ways: sundown signifies sleep and cold, rain shows us unavoidable wetness and misery, and dawn is a time of awakening. Thus, in some ways, it is a restriction. Spiritually, however, it is a freedom through connection with nature--going at nature's pace, at a NATURAL pace, not at our own artificially-created, societal-imposed pace.

A question I have for you is how you do see humans in relations to Nature? Nature is a vague term, and the way you emphasize people to embrace its simplicity implies humans were apart from Nature to begin with. This inherently

The beautiful blossoms that bloom in Californian spring, the summer daisies alongside the cooling lake, long after the summer the trees have lost their leaves entering autumn to fresh white snow out in the mountains. Nature is able to show us its true beauty without any falseness and modifications. After all, is it not ironic how people go to museums to look at paintings of colorful flowers, green hills, and clear water streams; those are beauties that can easily be observed in real life outside of the urban environment which are surrounded by them, or how people buy recordings of the calming sounds of nature, similar to what you would listen to at night in the woods or smell nature aromas of the candles. What we are doing is trying to mislead our minds and pretend to think that we are in the woods but are instead cornered inside our small, well-furnished, and full -with-technology apartment.

It is “not until we are lost [that] we begin to find ourselves” (Thoreau). In Nature, where wildflowers grow and savage beasts roam careless and free, we are granted our own rightful barbaric freedom. It’s a phenomena, the way people become when they give themselves to the Earth, even in microscopic amounts. A few months ago, my friends and I drove out after dark for a midnight hike. On the hike, I watched one friend awaken through Nature. He is a homebody and he’s expressed to me on multiple occasions how much he hates the outdoors, but when he was out there wrapped up in it, he told us how happy it made him, how it took away his worries, and how he believes his spirit animal is a wolf. Shortly after, he ran ahead of the pack. When all of us turned to go back down the mountain, he resolved to stay and enjoy the scenery and the open air alone for a bit. “We are conscious of an animal in us, which awakens in proportion as our highest nature slumber. It is reptile and sensual” (Thoreau). Humans were evolved from animals. Evolution has not had enough time for us to become static beings. “An unclean person is universally a slothful one, one who sits by a stove, whom the sun shines on prostrate, who reposes without being fatigued” (Thoreau). At the temple, the students were required to shut the lights off and be silent by 10PM and on numerous occasions, I wasn’t tired enough to sleep, but it provided oodles of time to know my roommates, and I am grateful for the bonds that formed. Nevertheless, I felt caged with no way out. We are wild beings and “all good things are wild and free” (Thoreau). While I was there, I attempted to understand the meaning behind the ties that bound us there, but I struggled immensely. Others seemed to have grasped it, but I could not conform enough to live blissfully within the temple

Driving is seen as very private, though when commuting there is a sense of proximity and movement that must be acknowledged (Larsen, Urry & Axhausen, 2008, p.641). With a co-presence inside the car, driving is an easier and more pleasant experience, there is an additional layer of conversation, making the drive more stimulating and noteworthy. Co-presence on the roads change daily, though the atmosphere remains the same (Larsen, Urry & Axhausen, 2008, p.641). There are many individuals travelling to and from work to Wollongong and industrial areas. In addition, there are many students taking a similar route to the university. This co-presence is neutral, except during times of traffic. More intimate forms of co-presence are more valued than

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.

What is the significance of an individual’s essence within the vast universe? Surrounded in an environment where all life resides do humans play the role of hegemony? Each human is unique, separated by interactions and relationships compiled throughout the journey of life. But, no matter how these experiences could shape an individual, the most basic pillars of life will always endure. All humans share land on this planet, breathe the same air, and are equally mortal. Composed by Louise Bogan, the role of humanity is put into perspective in the poem, “Night.” The speaker emphasizes nature’s immense presence in the universe. As the plot of “Night” develops, the interconnected relationships found in nature are revealed, using imagery to show

Hypothesis: “We propose that affiliating with nature affords us the opportunity to be fully flourishing human beings.”

As I left behind the somber forest, I now recognized an appreciation for nature that I did not realize I had. I now knew there was more to nature than just trees and animals, but also I found the

This quote describes the deeper, spiritual approach to nature. This deeper approach allows us to be more open and sensitive to ourselves and nonhuman life.