inspired by emerson

as my american literature class comes to a sorrowful close, i was struck by a glittery realization today. every work, every great american writer we've studied throughout the entirety of this course has in one way or another been radically shaped and inspired by emerson. more specifically, the authors that follow in the footsteps of this american literature hero weave his sweet obsession towards nature into their own masterpieces. 

thoreau spends years in quiet solitude, living alone by a pond and seeking to embrace the simple life. the river is what gives life to mark twain's creativity. the whiteness of the whale that leaves every melville fan in a state of introspection. chopin's focus on the liberation of the endless ocean. keuroac and his infectious novel of the vibrancy and spontaneity that comes from life on the road. picking apples with frost while deciding what road you should take. even up to dillard and her musings at tinker creek. everyone of the literature forefathers i adore have been influenced by one man and i cannot ignore the throbbing inquisition that levitates my gaze in such a way that i am left with a single desire to mimic the attention to nature that emerson speaks so highly of.

starting tomorrow i am going to begin an intentional note taking of the nature that surrounds me and i will post a few brief comments encompassing my observations. for it is not only emerson that encourages us to consider nature, but this invitation carries back to the desert fathers and mothers of the early centuries and even further to the intriguing command delivered by jesus. "consider the birds of the air... consider the lilies of the field...". i welcome your company on this brief stint into the world of nature that has manifested itself into a collection of life altering documentations beginnig with christ, filtering through the monastic movement, and picking up with the transcendentalists.