While reading the American scholar, a speech and essay by RW Emerson, I felt like some of my own thoughts/feelings were expressed there. He wrote that the scholar has three main sources to learn from:
1. Nature
The scholar sees nature in a superbly holistic way. He uses all senses and connects to the wisdom of the ultimate Source of nature while spending some quiet time there. To connect, to enjoy the sight, the sounds, the wind, the smells; it is so inspiring and so much wisdom and thoughts do come to us in silent reflection in nature
2. Books
He started by going back to the wise man of old age. They could see, and discovered giant truths through direct contact with nature and the ultimate Source of wisdom. We got so enchanted by their wisdom, and we value what they spoke and wrote so much, that often we forget to connect ourselves with the highest Source of wisdom. Scholars become then not thinkers but parrots of other people's thought. Surely books are useful for our dark moments who definitely appear in our life, but in times of flow, we should write the poetry and wisdom for the next generations.
3. Action
Scholars often feel they have to isolate themselves from society, cave in, become like hermits. Not good! Most of the things we do learn through action and pure hard experience of life's reality. Reflection on our actions and our own experience it what generates wisdom rather than just isolating ourselves in a cave
Whenever I read Emerson, I feel a sort of connection with what he wrote more than a century ago. Of course, whenever we read we read with a critical mind and not everything Emerson wrote is equally valuable, but there are many gems of wisdom in his essays and his poetry.
1. Nature
The scholar sees nature in a superbly holistic way. He uses all senses and connects to the wisdom of the ultimate Source of nature while spending some quiet time there. To connect, to enjoy the sight, the sounds, the wind, the smells; it is so inspiring and so much wisdom and thoughts do come to us in silent reflection in nature
2. Books
He started by going back to the wise man of old age. They could see, and discovered giant truths through direct contact with nature and the ultimate Source of wisdom. We got so enchanted by their wisdom, and we value what they spoke and wrote so much, that often we forget to connect ourselves with the highest Source of wisdom. Scholars become then not thinkers but parrots of other people's thought. Surely books are useful for our dark moments who definitely appear in our life, but in times of flow, we should write the poetry and wisdom for the next generations.
3. Action
Scholars often feel they have to isolate themselves from society, cave in, become like hermits. Not good! Most of the things we do learn through action and pure hard experience of life's reality. Reflection on our actions and our own experience it what generates wisdom rather than just isolating ourselves in a cave
Whenever I read Emerson, I feel a sort of connection with what he wrote more than a century ago. Of course, whenever we read we read with a critical mind and not everything Emerson wrote is equally valuable, but there are many gems of wisdom in his essays and his poetry.
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