Transcendentalist Movement Essay, Research Paper
Terror at Eerie Mt. ?Go find some twigs to make a splint quickly!?said the
guide Chris, with a low tone. ?Its going to storm, it looks really bad.? he
shouted. ?Listen Dave, I need you to be still and try not think of the
pain.? Chris shrieked. ?Can someone please get me something to soak up the
blood?! Oh my God!? Chris demanded. ?Stop staring!? shouted the bearded
guide. ?Am I going to die?? cried Dave. ?No you wont die!? the guide
screamed. ?He?s going to die, look at that thick puddle of blood. I?ve
never seen that much blood.? The other boys whisper amongst themselves. Just
then, one of the younger boys bends his head over and began vomiting on the
trail, leaving a hot, moist, putrid odor lingering in the air. That began the
misery that nearly ended seven innocent lives on a hiking trip to Eerie
Mountain. This was my first personal proof that there is a God. And that we are
all linked in some way. ?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. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed in the concept of the Oversoul
which is described as an ultimate spiritual unity encompasses all existence and
in which each human being has an individual share. This idea emphasizes the
belief that we (meaning everything) is connected under God. We as humans
aren?t really individual but a fragment of a whole which he calls Nature.
Henry David Thoreau, who studied the teachings of Emerson celebrates the vivid
beauty of nature in a novel titled Walden, Thoreau spends more than two years on
Emerson?s land to try and discover God in nature and to honor his brother.
Thoreau was mesmerized by a rainbow and it made such an impact on him that he
recorded this event into a chapter titled The Ponds ?Once it chanced that I
stood in the very abutment of a rainbow?s arch, which filled the lower stratum
of the atmosphere, tingling the grass and leaves around, and dazzling me as if I
looked through colored crystal. Emerson was very aware of the virtue of nature
that he makes this comment in the book Nature, ?as the snake his slough, and
at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual
youth.? Emerson?s point about the book was, that nature is far more
intricate than the human eye interprets. My experience with nature was similarly
rewarding as was Thoreau?s. Staring down at Dave?s broken hip, and replaying
in my mind the fall he suffered, I can?t deny that I believed he was going to
die. All of a sudden I discovered faith inside of me that I didn?t know I had.
And with this newfound faith I provided some positive energy to the terrorized
children that we accompanied to Eerie Mt. Gawking at Dave?s grimacing
countenance, I myself started to feel nauseous. From that point the presence of
God was never more apparent to me. As we hiked back toward camp, the sun was
slowly crawling back to his cave below the horizon and the shimmering stars
began to appear. The next day we left Eerie Mt. to take Dave to a hospital, I
began to think about the oneness I felt with nature and God that day before.
?It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.? Self
Reliance by Emerson challenges us as a society to be individual, and not worry
about fitting in or winning someone else?s praise. This idea is a perfectly
logical notion. Emerson believed that the world is based on conformity. He
thought that people are too afraid to be themselves and to voice their opinions
and ideas. Emerson thinks we should trust our higher instincts before reverting
back to what would be more acceptable. Self Reliance teaches us to trust
ourselves and to believe that what is inside although not common can still be
admired. This idea of Emersons? demands our society to start questioning
things and developing our own theories. As a child, I was taught to be more
realistic and to not just accept things as they appear. In life I?ve learned
that everyone will try to influence you to believe what they believe. For the
most part, I am a listener, but to those who truly know me, could tell you I
also am a questioner. I try to controvert all beliefs that people tell me and
search for all proof to back those statements up. And usually I notice that they
have no evidence that their convictions are valid. This is maybe perhaps why I
ask lots of question: because too many people believe in the wrong things for
the wrong reasons and I, like Emerson believe that it is actually better to be
different. Whenever I think of the name Ralph Waldo Emerson, the word that comes
to mind is brave. I even compare him to myself in that he is very aware of the
permeation of God. For those who don?t believe in God because of no
?scientific proof? are very blind. Maybe they need to take a vacation to a
forest and witness first-hand the miracle that occur and exist there. Maybe they
need to stare at a rainbow and try to speculate a greater being than God that
could create such an art form. Then maybe the blindfold will fall from their
eyes and let in the light. Another reason for comparing myself to Emerson is
because he thinks for himself and doesn?t take someone else?s word
necessarily. There are a lot of things I do that other people may not approve
of, or do themselves, but whose to say that my way of life isn?t ideal? I
totally support the idea of Self Reliance and I wish everyone could read this
essay and discover the many truths that it contains. Emerson says: stop trying
to be popular and to have support from your peers; don?t believe everything
you come across, if it doesn?t quite make sense, question it. Simple as that.
Believe that your mind is just as functional as everyone else?s. And finally,
concentrate on being the leader, not the follower.