In reading the last section of Thoreau I found myself looking towards my nature walk for inspiration. I took off to class and headed down the road, umbrella in hand with the rain lightly sprinkling on the tips of my pink shield from rain. I take a new path to class this morning, a new road that I have not taken before. I am walking slower than usual to take in the scenes. I find myself realizing how bad the sidewalk is deteriorating, bumps and cracks everywhere. I look to the houses, not recently painted and obviously owed or lived in by a younger generation. I watch my feet as a walk, for some reason this walk feels different. It is weird but there is no one walking near to me on this road, I can see people in the distance, but they are not taking the same “path” as I am taking. I feel as if I am seeing everything for the first time. I actually notice a huge tree and not because it is in the path of my walk but because it is overgrown and the leaves are huge. I surprise myself because I am really looking at the trees and the things around me. I wonder if I should have even brought my umbrella. The rain, although coming down, will most certainly ruin my hair and make me wet, isn’t that the point, seeing things from another view. I wonder why I am so against getting wet and why we rush through our days when it is raining to escape the rain. I take down the umbrella when I am almost at my class, thinking that I am chicken for not wanting to get wet. But I realize that finally seeing the rain for the first time like this, as something happy not as a “dreary, miserable wet day”, I am finding something more for myself and realize I am more of a dork than ever before for wanting to go play in the rain like I am five again.
I think that even though I see these things around me as one way, everyone else is seeing these trees, houses, sidewalk as something different. I bring back to mind a quote from Thoreau saying “may there not be a civilization going on among brutes as well as men?” (257) Are there really “worlds” out there of animals, other peoples, and “beasts” that live similar yet separate lives as I do? I think to myself that this selfish thinking , that my world is “the” world and other people, places, and animals are merely “different” is probably got Thoreau thinking of finding solitude in the first place, wondering where man has taken himself and his role in nature. We see, through another section Thoreau reveals that “Nature puts no question and answers none which we mortals ask.” (265) He realizes that man has to answer the questions of life for himself. We must awake everyday to new unanswered questions of life. When we see that “Heave is under our feet as well as over our heads” (266) Finding our grounding or our inner depth, as Thoreau relates to the depth of Walden Pond, allows us to see our true character. (272-273) Once we have found this depth we are now able to take in the scenes around us, to fully allow others to see us as we should be seen, at our core.
Throughout the last sections of Thoreau we see that water and time, looking through the generations of the past and their mark on Walden and on the world, there is a connection to our spiritual life. Water and time are mirrors, as mentioned many times throughout the sections, and they reflect our inner selves, our souls. If we are to take the theme of water and time “deeper” we see that we are now looking into what we call our nature. Mother nature and nature of our own character, we are looking to find the one in which we build our lives, our homes in the world. Thoreau ends the book with a feeling of change. A change must be made to the self in order to find the answers to our questions and to fully awake every day. I feel that Thoreau is telling us to not change where we are physically, our scenery, but instead our selves, our thoughts and actions in the world which ultimately reflect upon nature itself.
"Thoreau ends the book with a feeling of change. A change must be made to the self in order to find the answers to our questions and to fully awake every day. I feel that Thoreau is telling us to not change where we are physically, our scenery, but instead our selves, our thoughts and actions in the world which ultimately reflect upon nature itself."
ReplyDeleteI agree that Thoreau acts as an instigator...he wants the public to re-examine their lives and understand the daily choices presented before them, which are not fated. I think Thoreau's writing is so widely read and appreciated because, ultimately, it is inspirational. It is the voice in our heads telling us that rationality is a matter of opinion; it is the voice of rebellion. It urges us to break away from the things we have been brought up to believe in order to lead fulfilling lives.
While talking about Thoreau the Scientist and Thoreau the Poet, we are lead to believe that the two are distinct and separate. Scholars view his work in two categories, his more scientific work coming towards the end of his life. However, I think we must look at them both as being the struggle of every man and woman. It comes down to realizing that the world IS ruled by science and poetry, the HEAD and the HEART. While people may believe that no poetry would exist without humans to write it, I disagree. Does a tree falling in a forest make a sound if no one is there to hear it? Certainly. Even without artists, the art is present. We are fooled if we believe that it is our doing alone.