Critical Essay on Nature by Ralph Waldo

Introduction

According to Emerson, people should try to live a simple life in harmony with nature to find true happiness. Most people see nature in a superficial way. Nature and human beings are connected because both were created by God. Emerson sees nature as a representative of the divine mind (Emerson 74). Nature can be seen in a truly and wide manner. It offers pleasure, inspiration, and peace to those in contact with it. Nothing can befall a man which nature cannot repair. This means that there is no problem in life which nature is incapable of solving and it is the same nature that offers solutions to the many challenges facing human beings. People tend to appreciate the beauty of nature and pay homage to the one who created it-God. Emerson believes in a different perspective of nature in which one perceives a new God and body. As people take everything for granted, they don't think of the struggle that nature goes through to grow into something they can find divine.

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Human beings expect a lot from nature. Their expectations are based on the fact that they are obliged to protect the same nature and expect nature to reward them in return. However, they do little to ensure that the same nature is protected (Emerson 74). In this regard, they lack compassion for the world around them. For instance, one might complain when the weather is too hot, not even thinking that the warmth is keeping him/her alive. Being in nature is not about intellectual engagement but a kind of intuitive openness to beauty. Typically, children are more aware of nature than adults because of their desire to explore the environment and come up with different ideas about the same environment. A man's sensitivity to nature exists in a kind of tension.

The world is divided into various parts such as the self which represents the soul and the exterior world which is the nature (Whicher 15). Perfect correspondence exists between the two making one's communication with the outside world possible. The aspect of self and exterior world is a dualistic perspective (Whicher 15). Other than the soul and the exterior world, good and evil, male and female, mind and the body can be seen as dualistic. The desire of an individual to engage with one another in a given setting depends on the personal ability to take part in decision-making (Whicher 18). To Emerson, nature is all generous and to achieve a mystical union with the world, there is the need to purge oneself of all cares. Besides spiritual nourishment, nature provides certain material needs. At more advanced levels, it fulfills aesthetic sentiments serving as the way to thought and disciplines the mind of an individual.

There are three kinds of beauty including the spiritual, intellectual, and the beauty of exterior forms (Emerson 74). The spiritual beauty has virtue as its essence. People should not be prejudged based on physical characteristics. However, in most cases, the society uses physical appearance to judge its members. An individual's spiritual beauty has a real impact on their physical beauty (Whicher 19). This compels the person to strive for goodness. Intellectual beauty is characterized by a search for the absolute order of things (Whicher 20). In most cases, unity is found among the three kinds of beauty, which at different levels are expressions of the same essence. The equation of truth, beauty, and virtue is typical of a theory concerning art and beauty. Because of the industrializations and immense reliability of theories created and histories, humanity has lost a bit of excitement and curiosity in creating new things and ideas.

Some of the secrets of nature include change, identity, and rest. The laws of nature are always consistent. Those who love nature are those whose inward and outward senses are truly adjusted to each other and can retain the spirit of infancy even if they grow old (Whicher 24). Nature is constantly changing with its own forces at work. Emerson argues that the wilderness is the most blessed of all places because, in it, beauty is forever changing. There is no place within the confines of the community that an individual can feel as free as when surrounded by nature. Nature is the source of happiness, and it is prudent to look to the smallest things in nature that can make life enjoyable. According to Emerson, people's relationship with nature is based on the fact that they own farms but do not own the landscape (Emerson 74). The best parts of the farms are the scenery.

There is evidence in Emerson's religious beliefs in nature that might have influenced how he views the relationship between people and nature. When he talks about how he feels in the woods, Emerson mentions God. In his book, he states that 'he is part of a parcel of God.' This shows that he is part of the package of something much greater than him. To him, God is the ultimate authority. It is God who has the absolute power over anything that happens in the world (Kateb 102). Nature can only achieve its full existence based on human perception of it. Cognitive explorations only raise nature above its material existence if people interact with the natural surrounding and with a sense of respect and desire to create a totally new thing. In nature, people's perception of the natural world has its own power and validity since all human beings are endowed with the authority of perception if they chose to use it (Kateb 102). In most cases, the focus is on what makes people happy. If people can focus on the beauty of nature, they will be more likely to reflect on the spiritual defects they carry within. It is through perceiving the ideal in nature over and above the physical that human beings can also perceive their own divinity.

By emphasizing individualism and rejecting traditional authority, Emerson's objective is to create an understanding that people should live a simple life in harmony with nature. Nature offers essences that cannot be changed by man, and when people live in harmony with nature, they will gain a lot including true happiness and the desire to work towards a common goal (Kateb 102). Being with nature is good no matter the mood of an individual. A person can find it a place to visit when sad or happy. Man is as beautiful as nature. People should get rid of themselves of materials cares and enjoy an original relation with the world. Similarly, they should take themselves away from their daily cares which permits them a connection with the divine. When the mind of a person is open to the influence of nature, he/she can sense a wild delight.

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "3.1 Emerson's Individualism: Self-Reliance as Self-Culture." Nineteenth-Century Individualism and the Market Economy (2017): 74.

Kateb, George. "A Place to Think Alone: Ralph Waldo Emerson and America's Exceptional School for Self-Trust." Aspirational Exceptionalism: Rhetoric, Politics, and the Pursuit of American Greatness (2018): 102.

Whicher, Stephen E. Freedom, and Fate: An Inner Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2017.