Emerson - Nature

Emerson - Nature

To try to copy Emerson's experiences with nature, I set up my own nature experiment. I went on my balcony at 6:00 when it is dark and looked into the sky and towards the ocean. I did not set any specific rules because I didn't know what I was going to find and I didn't want to hinder my results. I just wanted to see what came to my mind while interacting with nature.

My experiment was a truely soothing and relaxing experience. On my deck, I felt the cool wind blowing and I looked up to see the stars Emerson refered to in his essay. The Moon was also shining bright like the sun ironically. One can really understand what Emerson was experiencing when one experiences it for oneself. Out on the balcony, I could see the stars Emerson described so beautifully. They truely are a symbol with regard to how they are taken for granted as Emerson said. Stars are always there even though they are truely mysterious because of the great divide between them and us. Regarding my immediate surroundings, I took note of the trees and birds around the backyards I was standing above and how they interacted with the rest of the surrounding environment. This whole scene was truely connected; it was almost divine. The Enviroment was all connected, I believe, through the divine power that created it all. Emerson is completely right when he says to look at nature as a whole and not individual parts. Nature is too complicated to split into different parts. The parts themselves don't have the meaning that the finished piece has. For example, a puzzle can have hundreds of pieces but the pieces are meaningless unless they are put together to portray a greater message.

For me personally, the whole experiment was amazing. I could really clear my mind and think about things clearly; whether they were related to school, work, family, friends, etc. Not only that, but I thought about these things reasonably. I thought through examining options and past events instead of on impulse and emotions. Also, when you are alone with nature, your mind cannot help to wander and imagine things that could happen in the future, or could have happened differently in the past. It was an amazing experience for me and I hope to do it again.

Sidenote: Poets are not the only ones who can see nature for what it is

Emerson - Friendship

Emerson - Frienship

A very telling experiment would be to live out a day using Emerson's definition of friendship to define my relationships and to see the differences in the two philosophies. I attempted to do this yesterday. I tried to put into effect most of Emerson's general important principles when talking to friends and family. Some of the things I did were to try to allow my friends and family to be my "undermost garments", try to emphasize strong relationships, try to keep the independence of my decision-making, exhibit trust and magnanimity, and I tried to only be around my better friends. All of these are actions that Emerson would have recommended to me be based on his philosophy in this essay on friendship.

In my day following Emersonian philosophy with regard to friendship, I learned many interesting facts about my relationships with my friends. First, I found that in general, when I was around my best friends, Emerson's principles for the most part were followed. Around them, I always have fun and enjoy myself in addition to feeling I could tell them anything. Also, I was already forgiving to them if they did anything which just proves even more the strong relationships we had. Also, my best friends exhibited these characteristics to me as well. It was interesting to see how they exhibited these distinct characteristics without knowing it. I guess these friends could be considered my Emersonian friends

One thing I wish I did more of is be around friends I was no so close to. I believe I could have seen the difference between Emerson's ideal relationship and the realistic relationship. I believe Emerson would have characterized these people as "glass threads" or "frost-work" and because of the weaker relationships I have with them. I presume that the conversations following Emerson philosophy would have been more awkward because I would be telling them things that they would not expect to hear. Also, I would also be around them more often than usual. It would just be a different type of relationship than we have. All this would have made them suspicious of some change and I believe would have showed the difference between the two different types of relationships. With my best friends, there was no difference between Emersonian philosophy and reality, but with more casual friends, there was.

One thing that needs to be taken into consideration for this experiment is the role of the friend. In Emersonian thought, it is not just the individual who has to exhibit the positive characteristics but the friend who has to show them as well. For example, it is hard to have someone be my "undergarments" if they do not want to be or in reality they are my "outer garments." The friend's attitude plays a major role in the results achieved. But I also think this is something telling. This also shows the quality of the friend. If the friend has a positive attitude and fits the Emersonian characteristics without changing or awkwardness, then he/she is a better friend. On the other hand, if the friend is negative and awkward around you when you emphasize Emersonian characteristics, then probably he/she is not a great friend.

In conclusion, there were a lot of interesting results from this experiment. This is an interesting topic to examine even more closely because it has to do a lot with human nature and psychology.

Emerson - Gifts

Emerson - Gifts

Emerson, in his piece titled Gifts, reveals a lot about the true essence of gifts and gift-giving along with ihs philosophy on the issue.

According to Emerson, gifts should be pieces of the gift-givers. Gifts should not be extravegant and expensive materialistic items becasue that only draws attention to the gift-giver and not teh recipient. Emerson says that the best gifts are sometimes the homemade gifts; the cards, the photo books, etc. These items represent the connection between the gift-giver and the gift-recipient and that is the point of gift giving.

Emerson also mentions the importance of the right way to recieve gifts. He says that we need to pass on the good that is given to us to others who also need it. This should be the goal of all gift recipients; to be able to use their gift to better someone or something else.

Emerson's philosphy can be percieved as a critique on society today and as a social commentary. I believe Emerson is critiquing the materialism, greed, and selfishness of today's world. It is amazing to see the world when ones steps back and sees how much we value the biggest, most expensive, and the flashiest gifts. This is exactly what Emerson is critiquing when he says that we need to be thinking about the thought behind the gift and and how we need to be thinking of the most personal, true gifts instead of the flashiest. I personally don't believe everything Emerson said through his literary works, but he does have a point here that needs to be addressed.

It is interesting to think how my life would be different if I became more like Emerson with regard to gifts. As of now, most of the time, I go buy my gifts from the stores and most of the time they are gift cards. If I was more like Emerson, I would not go to the stores at all but take the time to make gifts on my own that symbolized my relationships with the people I wanted to give gifts to. Emerson wants these gifts to be custom made for the recipiant. This is one of the points where I don't agree with Emerson. I believe some of the "flashier" more expensive gifts can be just as meaningful as the homemade ones. For example, last Christmas, I got my mom a gold necklace. I did this because she does so much for me and my future and she does that my investing her own money. I wanted to invest my own money in return to make her happy. She knew that the gift was not cheap and she knew I did not have a lot of money and that made the fact that I got her the gift special. This is just one of the many examples where the "flashier" gifts mean a lot.

In conclusion, Emerson brings up an interesting social commentary through a great piece of literature. I wished more poeple would reliaze that the thought of the gifts and the memories behind them are more important the gift itself.

Emerson - Self Reliance

Emerson - Self Reliance

"What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think"

Paraphrase: I have to do what is best for me regardless of what other people think

This quote has extreme importance and validity to many different aspects of real life. Again, it is saying that one needs to do what is best for oneself. It is important to clarify that this excerpt is not saying to ignore everyone else, but is emphasizing the importance of not throwing away one's accomplishments for people/things that are not worth them. This quote has really been a part of my personal life to this point. It has served as the moral to many of life's lessons for me. For example, I had to take the SAT on the day after Halloween. There was a party at my friend's house that I could have gone to but I didn't because I needed to do well on the SAT for college and for my future. We all need to look at the bigger scope of things when facing decisions like this and Emerson and I believe if we do we will make the right decision.

Thsi quote goes along with Emerson's beliefs of self-reliance, individualism, and a questioning-mind. Emerson stresses throughout his essays to look at what is best for you and not to fall victim to what he calls the "conspiracy of society." He claims that society attempts to control individual thought and tries to conform everyone to a single standard. Emerson says we need to fight this. This is evident from the quote, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its memebers." He is specifically saying here that everyone who is part of society contributes to this "conspiracy" that is trying to conform and limit the "integrity of the mind."

Emerson came after the period of the Enlightenment but was undoubtedly influenced by the writings and values of that era. People like Rousseau and Voltaire also advocated for individualism. Voltaire concentrated his energy on the individualism of the mind to choose one's own beliefs and religion as he was a steadfast supporter of religious tolerance. Rousseau focused his efforts of individualism to promote true democracy and the will of the majority as he said that people had the ability to govern themselves without a monarch.

In conclusion, Emerson's beliefs of individualism and free thought are clear throughout his writings and are shared with many other great philosophers. We are now able to think freely and openly and it is mostly because of people liek Rousseau , Voltaire, Emerson, Jefferson, and many more heroic and revolutionary people. It is important not to take for granted these freedoms and we need to use them to the fullest extent possible. Like Emerson said, we should all think for ourselves and decide what is right and what is wrong in our own minds.