Nature

Nature
Think about nature. Do you think of trees, the woods, leaves, grass and sticks? Most people do think about these things when they relate nature to their own lives. When nature is first brought to mind I, however, think about the time I went to Miami Beach, Florida. I love the trees and woods, of course but I get more frustrated with trees and grass than I do looking over the ocean to the sun setting across the still water. There is always something bothering me when I'm in the woods, there is always a branch breaking or a spider crawling over a rock, which I hate. When I look at the ocean I see a peacefulness that is hard to find in an everyday routine. I do not completely disagree with Emerson and Thoreau's views on nature but I do have my own opinions about what the two of them have to say.
Emerson writes that the power of nature lies in man, or in a harmony of both man and nature but not nature alone. "Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both." I agree with this because two people can see the same exact horizon or flower or sunset and have two completely opposite oppinions. I believe that if you open your heart to the scenery around you it can be absorbed and transformed in a person's mind to be a beautiful masterpiece. I feel like Emerson was saying this when he said that the power to produce this delight is in a harmony of both nature and in man, but not in nature alone. No person with a closed mind and pessimistic personality can fully enjoy a blindingly beautiful sunset as well as an optimistic person who is looking forward to the magnificent view. One of the reasons I enjoyed my experience in Miami Beach so much was because I was able to sit on the edge of a boat dock and witness so many boats, waves, the wind blowing, pelicans diving for dinner and, the most beautiful, breathtaking sunset anyone could ask for. I opened up my mind and heart to this view. I could have said the sun was too bright, the air was too cool and the waves were disturbing and that I didn't like the splashing of birds but I took all of this in and enjoyed it.
Thoreau writes "... I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Thorough believed that everything in the world is a reflection of a divine soul, which I don't believe. I do believe that through nature you can connect to your inner self and focus on the true things in your heart and mind. However, because of my religious beliefs I disagree that nature is a reflection of the divine soul. When I experienced the ocean and sunset my thoughts and daydreams ran wild. I could have lay there for days daydreaming in the peacefulness.
My experience in nature is different, but alike at the same time, to Emerson & Thoreau's experiences. I was able to enjoy nature and think alot by myself. I sat halfway up on the edge of a dock with my feet in the salty water, until the six foot long fish came up, and just watched. I heard children laughing and screaming, fishermen yelling and moms scolding toddlers for waddling too close to the edge of the water. These along with taxi cabs honking horns and the delicious smell of fresh seafood dinners brought me back to earth and reminded me that I still needed to get ready for dinner. Nature does have a way of bringing someone away from their troubles. My favorite part of the entire experience was, by far, the golden sunset stretching across the miles of open water. The lower the sun, the more white-capping was introduced by the ocean. I belive that is how mother nature was telling seamen to leave the danger of the hungry night-dwellers and go home to their own hungry families.
Emerson and Thoreau are great writers and I agree with most of what they write. I enjoy reading their experiences and be able to remember mine. My experience is so different than Emerson or Thoreau's view of nature, yet it has very similar details that connect the two. I had a wonderful nature experience.