"Self-Reliance" Ralph Waldo Emerson

"These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments alike. "- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We are often not "in touch" with ourselves or trust ourselves enough to find these truths and so must often depend on others, books, etc. to express it for us, but it is somehow within us. " - Ann Woodlief

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's landmark essay "Self Reliance", the idea that man's path to happiness is living as truthfully as possible to his own nature. He asks for us to live out our ideas and to voice them, all the while not forgetting what is truly at hand. To stay in the present and to live "perfectly" attuned to our human nature is the goal. Not subscribing the words and thoughts of others before our own is paramount, and counting yourself as a being at the same level of "the greats" will allow you to become as successful as you can possibly be.


Reading Emerson's essay again was a very good experience because it allowed me to get past the density of his writing and it gave me another opportunity to search through the multitudes of abundant his wisdom. Like, his critics, sometimes after too much Emerson, I begin to feel like the gown-up talking to his idealistic brother who never grows up. That is not to say that I disagree with him, rather I feel like his goals for humanity, rather they are beautiful and true goals, that if carried our may very well be the path to a perfect human existence, but unfortunately these goals are somewhat unattainable. So, as with most philosophical endeavors for the eager mind, I shall walk away with a general sense and belief in Emerson's Guide to a Realized Existence, but cannot see myself following through with all of his deeply supported and agreeable ideas, fully at least.