In the journal entries from Thoreau, I really enjoyed his descriptions of the things that are around him. In each entry that we read, it seems as though he pays attention to every detail of the animal or plant. He is also able to do this in ways that anyone would be able to understand. This is one thing that I have always enjoyed about nature writing. By reading his entries, we are giving insight into how Thoreau saw the world. It may give us a new perspective on somethings or we may disagree with it, but either way it is new and refreshing to the readers mind.
Thoreau addressing this point in "seeing". He brings up the fact that no two people are going to see the same landscape the same way. This is what is so wonderful about exploring places together. We are able to somewhat see through other peoples eyes and gain a new perspective on the place. One person may see nothing interesting but the person standing next to them may see something awesome! It is in sharing this that we are able to learn from one another and share a greater appreciation of any place.
I also enjoyed "Tenacity of Life". I found it interesting to get Thoreau's view on Darwinism, which was very present in this journal passage.It again, brought up many thoughts that I have not had about natural selection and the natural world.
Charles Kingsley seemed very different in some ways, but the two were also very similar. I likes the fact that Kingsley says that we need to appreciate everything because they are God's creation. No matter if you believe this or not, I think we can all gain something from this. I especially enjoyed the part where he says "...for everything is beautiful and perfect in it's place". I am going to keep this in mind and think of it next time I see something that I think is ugly or out of place so that I may gain some perspective on the thing I am looking at.
When I read "seeing" and your post it reminded me of when I would go hiking with other people. Sometimes when I hike I look at the ground so I don't fall like some fool so I then miss out of stuff but it's nice to go with a big group of people because all of us point out different things we see and then benefit from each other's different view points. I will also try to remind myself that there is beauty to all things and some things just need to be looked at a bit longer to fully appreciate the beauty.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about that as well today as my son held an earwig up to me and said "look mom! isn't this soooo cool!". What was I to say- yuck? Gross! Get that away from here- it will destroy the garden? I couldn't- the look of joy on his face was too much. Children will remind us of beauty in every place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for focusing on the "seeing" part of our reading. I was recently hiking with a friend of mine who I haven't seen in a year. We haven't hiked together in probably 16 years. He's a plant guy. I kept pointing out birds on the hike. He said to me, "man, I totally forgot about birds." It made me laugh, but reminded me of the fact that we all see things from a different view.
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