A year back I was reading Walden and I had the impression that he was a little pompous and narrow minded in his writing, that image stayed with me through these selections of this writing as well. I felt that in Walden his approach to living and seeing nature is simple and that economics and society can be ignored. Although we may not see eye to eye I do appriciate his writing at the bottom of page 214. We are only able to see as much beauty (whether in nature or in the city) as we are "prepared to appreciate".
After readying Thoreau and Kingsley I tried to imagine them seeing the same thing, lets say a compost bin that hasn't been well kept. They are turning the bin together and an aweful smell and steam arises from the heap. Thoreau may have commented on the amount of heat, or the many insects he saw, Kingsley on the other hand may have shrunk out of disgust.
I believe that this is key to understanding different peoples experience in nature. As an EE it is important for me to understand that what I see as beautiful on a hike others may not see the same beauty. This gives me an opportunity for explaining why I see something as beautiful or showing the people around me.
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