Friday, January 29, 2010

I talked with Sonja yesterday on Skype and among other things we discussed my love for Emerson. She asked for an example of what kind of things he writes and at a loss for words to describe such a magnificent writer I decided to simply post this beautiful example. I welcome the opportunity to post something by my dear dear Emerson on all of my blogs so here you go. Enjoy!

Who troubles himself about his ornaments or fluency is lost. This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.

Bliss. <3
Peace out.

3 comments:

Gudgeir said...

Vissi ekki að þú værir aðdáandi hugsægishyggju. Gaman að því. Emerson og Thoreau svo sannarlega miklir hugsuðir.
Verður samt að gæta þín að hafa báðar fætur á jörðinni. Hugsæishyggjufólk á það til að gleyma sér í draumórum. ;)

perdu said...

Ekki gleyma Whitman. :) Transcendentalism rokkar. Draumórar eru fyrsta skrefið að betri veruleika. :P

Gudgeir said...

Þekki ekki mikið til Whitman en Emerson var mikill og góður hugsuður.
Varðandi draumóranna, þá getur það verið rétt hjá þér. Hinsvegar hafa draumórar ýmissa manna sögunnar orðið að veruleika sem orsökuðu hræðilegar afleiðingar. Þó kannski betri veruleiki fyrir þá sem draumórana eiga?
Lykillinn, býst ég við, er að öðlast skilning á einstaklingunum sem draumórana eiga.