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.