"Nature hates calculators"

Could I give up all my worldly possessions and technology to live secluded in the woods for a year? Eh, I probably couldn't...I probably would die within a week because I don't know how to start a fire with a flint or know what kind of mushrooms are edible (I COULD, however, sit around and identify birds...if that would somehow improve my survival rate). I also would probably end up having an anxiety attack because I would constantly be thinking about getting mauled by a bear...But in all seriousness now...I think that I would love living in seclusion for a while, but I don't know if I could do it for a year. I absolutely love the solitude, peacefulness, and beauty that is only found in nature, but I wonder if I would be satisfied? This goes back to the plenitude that Lasn was talking about--in nature, I have EVERYTHING I could ever need, yet I would want more. I would want my cell phone and laptop to have a social/media life. I would want my whole wardrobe (who needs clothes in the woods!?). I would want to have shelves full of preservative-stuffed, fake foods. I am so dependent on this shit that I can't imagine living without it even though I know how much better off I would be. If I actually went through with this, it's hard to tell what I would learn about myself. I think I would have an enlightened state of mind, and probably be highly sensitive to the crazy amounts of "noise" that pollute my daily life now. I'm pretty sure I would learn that I am most definitely, for sure better off without media, crazy amounts of clothing, and foods that are disgustingly toxic to my body.

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three,...and keep your accounts on your thumbnail..." As college kids, I think we need to learn to live by this quote as much as we can. We try to juggle classwork, a part-time job, and still try to have a social life. It causes imbalance; we spend more time on one thing (our social lives), which leaves us with little time to do things that are a bit more important (our schoolwork and job). While I believe having a social life is important, we young adults need to realize that it isn't going to put ramen noodles and easy mac into our microwaves. We need to figure out what in our lives takes priority and stick to it--if there is extra time, go off and do something that doesn't take as high of a priority.

I had a little trouble understanding Emerson's quotes (death of language, anyone?), but I think that he was getting at the point that we need to think and live for ourselves--nobody else. I believe that we need to listen to our own hearts when making a decision that will greatly affect our lives, and not listen to the peer-pressure. We need to experience life, learn from our own mistakes, and not take someone's disappointment in us to heart. Last semester, my mom tried to make me feel bad about myself because I had switched my concentration and had gotten out of a (very unhappy) 4.5 year relationship with my ex-boyfriend. She liked my ex and thought my concentration fit me well; therefore, for over a month she did nothing but complain and moan about how I was screwing up my life. I didn't let her criticism and ridicule bother me, though. I was finally letting go of what was making me miserable, and have been immensely happy since.

 

"But your soul you must keep, totally free" 

I love this song by Mumford and Sons. To me, it reiterates the points that Emerson was making. Someone may be there for you, to pick you up, but you must be the one to stay individualized and solve your own problems. Constantly taking another person's advice when you have a problem isn't going to give you the answer that is 100% right for you. Nobody can tell you what to do with your life and what's going to be right for your future. Take charge of your own life!

I think that everyone needs to get out and observe nature. Nature is wondrous!