Emerson/Thoreau Experiment?
Choose one of the following:
Option 1: Take a break and find some solitude-turn off the cell phone, TV, ipod, etc... Get out in nature and actually listen to yourself think. Go to a natural setting where you won't be distracted by people or anything else. Think about some of the transcendental ideas that connect with you. How do they affect you? How can you do a better job of applying them to your life? Contemplate your life, the world, and the impact you want to make. Be honest in your evaluation and compare who you truly are to who you want to be. Essentially, I am asking you to evaluate your life under the umbrella of transcendentalism.
Option 2: If, like Thoreau, you're into pain and suffering, attempt to simplify your life by getting back to life's essential details. In other words, give up a possession or a few possessions that you regularly use and have significant value to you, but end up cluttering your time. Record the changes you made in your life. Be honest-did you cheat and use it occasionally or borrow from someone else? If so, what does that reveal about you? How do friends and family react to your decision to give these things up? Has it made your life any easier or is this possession really a necessity? Will you continue to limit your use of these things? What have you learned about yourself? Why did you choose to give up what you did?
Please include a connecting or relevant quotation from Emerson or Thoreau that connects with your chosen experiment. Complete your experiment and response by 2:30p.m. on Thursday, December 15th.
Option 1: Take a break and find some solitude-turn off the cell phone, TV, ipod, etc... Get out in nature and actually listen to yourself think. Go to a natural setting where you won't be distracted by people or anything else. Think about some of the transcendental ideas that connect with you. How do they affect you? How can you do a better job of applying them to your life? Contemplate your life, the world, and the impact you want to make. Be honest in your evaluation and compare who you truly are to who you want to be. Essentially, I am asking you to evaluate your life under the umbrella of transcendentalism.
Option 2: If, like Thoreau, you're into pain and suffering, attempt to simplify your life by getting back to life's essential details. In other words, give up a possession or a few possessions that you regularly use and have significant value to you, but end up cluttering your time. Record the changes you made in your life. Be honest-did you cheat and use it occasionally or borrow from someone else? If so, what does that reveal about you? How do friends and family react to your decision to give these things up? Has it made your life any easier or is this possession really a necessity? Will you continue to limit your use of these things? What have you learned about yourself? Why did you choose to give up what you did?
Please include a connecting or relevant quotation from Emerson or Thoreau that connects with your chosen experiment. Complete your experiment and response by 2:30p.m. on Thursday, December 15th.
posted by Greg T at Monday, December 12, 2011
7 Comments:
This weekend I took my dog for a long walk, I typically don't do this but I will admit it was a nice change. I usually don't stop and look at nature but on this walk it was hard to keep my eyes off all the beauties of nature such as, the tree tops covered in snow or the frozen water in the stream. Also on this walk I was able to take a step back and catch up with my life and make matters less complicated. Emerson said in his reflective piece that, "most persons do not see the sun." This weekend I was able to go out and be in the suns' presence. Also it made me realize how much I truly cherish nature and the sun.
This weekend, I went to go think about life. I am generally in the outdoors anyway, and decided that this weekend would be a good time to think about nature, and being in solitude. I looked deeper into colors, and farther into the stars. I went to Daniels park, and walked randomly around the hills and sagebrush. I began to notice that every bush, tree, or leaf has a different shape, and different color. Emerson says in his book Nature, that, "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature". I realized that I rarely truly see nature, because of the rush of society, and the business of life. I want to try to get away from the city lights more, and get in touch with the woods.
This past weekend when I was driving to my hockey game, I took some time to watch nature display its beauty. I really tried to take in the small details of nature. The serene drive was nothing but spectacular and it really opened my eyes to the beauty that we are surrounded with everyday.
Over the weekend I went for a walk and sat down on this bench along the trail and looked over the creek and started to ponder on about life and what I can do to better myself and others around me. I think the reason why I tend to think better when I'm nowhere near anyone and all you can hear are your thoughts and you dont get inturrupted while your thinking because there's nothing near me that will distract me
To be honest, this really is not something new for me. I am used to turning my phone and tv off and taking time away from things to try and clear my mind. I find it very helpful. Ever since I did the transcendental project last year with Mr. Robinson, I have loved Thoreau and Emerson and live by a lot of their quotes. Walden is one of my favorite pieces of work, and I took away a lot from it. I try to take time at the end of every week after school to de-stress. I always learn new things about myself, and always find new ways of looking at problems that I couldn't solve previously. I think about life a lot, whether I'm alone or not or whether I'm doing something or sitting at the park. I feel like I think more than people usually do, and this helps me to be more concentrated on other things in life. When I feel like I have too much on my mind, I like to go for runs and notice all the beauty in nature around me. Taking a run really helps me to be active and get the solitude I need. I also like to sit on my roof at night and just look up at the stars. I think we can learn a lot from space, even if it isn't something you would normally learn in school. I feel this can be true with really anything you do. But my favorite thing of all is to take my notebook and a pencil with me somewhere and just sit and write out what I'm feeling or write a poem. Ever since I did that project last year, I've fallen in love with Thoreau and Emerson. I try to live as simply as possible, and a lot of times it's better than living with technology.
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Yesterday I decided to go up hiking in the mountians with some friends. I took some time away from them and just sat on a rock looking at the beautiful wonder in front of me. The trees, the bushes, even the rocks were all aligned perfectly. I see this balance of nature and I wonder how in the world can an inatimant object have more balance without even trying than I do? I realize that there is something more than just me in this world. That I am only one piece of this giant puzzle we can mankind. I learned to just take each problem at a time and to enjoy my life to the fullest because I don't have that long on tihs earth compared to that rock I was sitting on. There is so much more to this universe than my petty problems and I need to realize that and look beyond my bubble.
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