Chose a phrase or a sentence from Emerson’s essay “Nature” that really struck you as being accurate to your own experience of nature. Write a paragraph that captures an experience of nature of your own that supports what you understand to be Emerson’s vision of nature. 

The natural world and its revelatory characteristics, enticed the transcendentalist movement to explore the capacity for higher reasoning within themselves, which enabled them to perceive spiritual truth intuitively. This higher reasoning developed through the immersion of the heart and soul within nature, which was contingent on leaving the developed, busy society behind. As a result, the transcendentalists believed they achieved a higher rationale and found the meaning of God hidden within the solitude of nature. This was ultimately revealed by the creative expression and self reliance that occurred due to the rejection of traditional ideologies in favour of intuitively listening to oneself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s prominency throughout this movement is demonstrated within his essay, Nature. His revelatory writing style, which mimics that of a stream of consciousness, sees him jump between thoughts in each new sentence. Personally, I found this style of writing very difficult to understand, however this writing style connects Emerson’s thoughts between nature and individualism. Emerson argued that through creative expression,(and thus individualism), one can get closer to the true spiritual soul, which is ultimately developed through his truncated sentences as he contradicts his previous thoughts with new revelations. Furthermore, Emerson’s intense use of metaphors, parables and imagery captures his poetic creative expression, over that of a rigid essay by a philosopher.

I finally understood Emerson’s argument about being universally connected with nature, through the paragraph preceding the lines;

Herein is especially apprehended the unity of Nature, — the unity in variety, — which meets us everywhere. All the endless variety of things make an identical impression. Xenophanes complained in his old age, that, look where he would, all things hastened back to Unity. He was weary of seeing the same entity in the tedious variety of forms. The fable of Proteus has a cordial truth. A leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole. Each particle is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world.

I reminisced with this section, as Emerson presents how no matter what form of life an individual partakes, there is the same overarching spiritual oneness and truth that can access if looked at in the right way. There is a great potential for all individuals to access the same universal mind, as it encompasses the entirety of the universe. These intrinsic interconnections cannot be written into language as eloquently as it is spiritually felt and sought after. Nature and immersion within it, is the only way to achieve a higher reasoning and truth, which reveals the how the universe is one through connections. I believe this is a beautiful way to view the world, as Emerson describes how each creature is a modification of another, demonstrating the intense unity and interconnection that occurs in difference.