Transcendentalism

Quote#1

Thereisatimeineveryman'seducationwhenhearrivesat
theconvictionthatenvyisignorance;thatimitationis
suicide;thathemusttakehimselfforbetter,forworse,ashis
portion;thatthoughthewideuniverseisfullofgood,no
kernelofnourishingcorncancometohimbutthroughhis
toilbestowedonthatplotofgroundwhichisgiventohimto
till.Thepowerwhichresidesinhimisnewinnature,andnone
butheknowswhatthatiswhichhecando,nordoesheknow
untilhehastried.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance

WhatIbelievethatEmersonwastryingtogetacrossisthat
weshouldallliveourownlives,itisacrimetoworryortobe
enviousofwhatothersdoorsay.Heissayingthatwe
shouldntgetcaughtupinwhatwedoordonothave,but
focusonwhatwecanbecome.Wecantcompareourselvesto
otherpeople,becauseifwedo,ourentireliveswillbe
shadoweduponcomparison.Hesaysthatourpowercomes
fromnature,thateverythingweare,andeverythingthatwe
canbecome,comesfromnature.Healsosaysthatwehave
noideawhatwecandountilwehavetried.Allinall,hes
sayingthatitiswrongtocompareortotryandbelike
someoneelse.

Quote#2

Thereasonwhytheworldlacksunity,andliesbrokenandin
heaps,is,becausemanisdisunitedwithhimself.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

IthinkthatthepointthatEmersonwastryingtomakeisthat
thereisnopointintryingtounifytheworldifyouyourselfare
notunified.Basically,wehavetobeateaseandatrestwith
ourselvesinsteadoffocusingonrelationships.Youcannot
haveagood,healthy,andcooperativerelationshipwith
anyoneuntilyouareunified.Emersonthroughoutallofhis
workshowedthattheonlywaytodothatistogetbackto
natureandforgetthebusinessofmodernlife.Sowhatheis
sayinghereisthatwehavetofocusonunifyingourselves
beforeweunifytheworld.

 Quote#3

Asasinglefootstepwillnotmakeapathontheearth,soa
singlethoughtwillnotmakeapathwayinthemind.Tomake
adeepphysicalpath,wewalkagainandagain.Tomakea
deepmentalpath,wemustthinkoverandoverthekindof
thoughtswewishtodominateourlives.

- Henry David Thoreau

IthinkthatwhatThoreauistryingtosayisthatwehaveto
choicebeliefsinourlife.Wecantjusthaveanideaorasingle
thoughtofwhatwebelieveoflife,butwehavetohave
reasonstobackourideasup.Wehavetothinkofitoverand
over,untilwearesofamiliarwithitthatwecanargueit.Hes
sayingthatweshouldthinkforourselvesandmakeour
choicesandthinkforourselves.Itspopulartoletsocietytell
youwhattothinkanddo,butThoreausaysthattothinkfor
yourselfshouldbecomeahabit.

 Quote#4

Manygofishingalltheirliveswithoutknowingthatitisnot
fishtheyareafter.

- Henry David Thoreau

Thoreauissayingthatmanypeoplegothroughlifewithout
knowingthepurposeofit.Manypeoplefocusonthewrong
thingsinlife.Theyfocusonbeingpopular,orwhatother
peoplethink,whentheyshouldbefocusingonmore
importantthings.Theyshouldgothroughlifefocusingon
findingtheirpurpose,orfindingthemselves,notonwhat
peoplethink.Thoreauwasgivingasimileforthis,sayingthat
peoplelivetheirentireliveswithoutknowingthemeaningfor
it.

 Quote#5

Whyshouldwebeinsuchdesperatehastetosucceed,and
insuchdesperateenterprises?Ifamandoesnotkeeppace
withhiscompanions,perhapsitisbecausehehearsa
differentdrummer.Lethimsteptothemusicwhichhehears,
howevermeasuredandfaraway.

- Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Hessayingthatweshouldbeourselves!Weshouldntrelyso
heavilyonwhatotherpeoplethink,becauseultimatelyitwill
notmatterintheend.Whenyouaredeadandgone,people
willnotrememberyouforwhatyouconformedto,butwhat
youstoodoutin.Ifyougothroughalloflifeagreeingwith
everyoneelse,itdoesntmakeadifference.Butifyoustand
out,andbeattothesoundofyourowndrum,youwillmakea
differenceandyourideaswillsparkideasinothers.Thatis
whatlife'sallabout,andthatiswhatThoreauistryingtosay.

 Quote#6

Tobegreatistobemisunderstood.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance

Thegreatestpeopleinlifearemisunderstood,thatiswhat
madethemgreat.ThisiswhatEmersonwastryingtopoint
out.Theywereridiculedandmisunderstood,butthatiswhy
werememberthemtoday,becausetheyweredifferent.This
goeswithquote#4,thatlifespurposeistohavedifferent
ideas,evenifthatmeansyouwillbemisunderstood.Ifyou
conformtoeveryoneelsesway,youwontbedifferentor
misunderstood,butyouwillalsonotberemarkableand
remembered.

 Quote#7

Nothingisatlastsacredbuttheintegrityofyourownmind.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance

IthinkthatwhatEmersonwastryingtogetacrosswasthat
themostimportantpartofyourlifeisyourmind.Youcontrol
yourownthoughtsandwhatdoyouthink.Ifyoudecidethat
youwanttochosetohaveagoodlife,thatisyourownchoice.
Thatisthemostimportantthing,notwhatothersthink,but
whatyoudecideforyourself.Hessayingthat,nomatterwhat
otherpeoplethink,ifyourmindispureandgood,youwillgo
far.

SongLyric#1

Dontworryaboutathing,causeeverylittlethingisgonna
bealright

- Bob Marley, Dont Worry Be Happy

Thisportraystranscendentalismbecauseitssayingthatno
matterwhatisgoingon,everythingwillworkoutintheend.A
bigpartoftranscendentalismismakingchoicesforyourself,
nomatterhowsocietyreacts.Alotoftime,beinghappyno
matterwhatlifethrowsatyouisntsomethingthatthisculture
does,butBobMarleyshowsthatisagoodthing.Nomatter
howhardyourcircumstancesare,youhavingtokeep
ploddingthrough.
 SongLyric#2

Youthinktheonlypeoplewhoarepeople,arethepeople
wholookandthinklikeyou,butifyouwalkthefootstepsofa
stranger,you'lllearnthingsyouneverknewyouneverknew.

- Colors of the Wind, Vanessa Williams

Thisissayingthatyoucantjudgeabookbyitscover,you
havetodigalittledeeperintotheirlifetoknowtherealstory.
Itssayingyouhavetoshowempathy,andwalkintheir
footstepsandtryandrealizewhattheyaregoingthrough.In
therestofthesongitsaysthatyouhavetogotonatureto
realizethetruemeaningoflife.Transcendentalismistheidea
ofgoingtonaturetobecomeonewithyourself.Thisreflects
partoftheideasoftranscendetalism.

 SongLyric#3

Youheldmedown,butIgotup(hey!)
Alreadybrushingoffthedust
Youhearmyvoice,yourhearthatsound
Likethunder,gonnashakeyourground

- Roar, Katy Perry

Shewastryingtoshowthateventhoughpeopleheldher
downanddoubtedher,shedoesntcare.KatyPerrywasrising
aboveitanddidntcarewhatotherpeoplethoughtabout
her.Transcendentalismispartlyaboutbeingyourselfand
havingyourownideas.Thethirdlineshowsthatnotonly
doesshenotcareaboutthosewhodoubther,butshesgoing
tovocalizeherthoughtsandideas.
 SongLyric#4

SeeIwasonthevergeofbreakingdown
Sometimessilencecanseemsoloud
TherearemiraclesinlifeImustachieve
ButfirstIknowitstartsinsideofme,oh

- I Believe I Can Fly, R. Kelly

R.Kellywassayingthatheknowsmiracleshappen.Butthe
miraclesstartwithhim.Hecontrolshisowndestiny,heisnt
goingtowaitaroundforsomethingtohappen,hesgoingto
beinchargeofhimself.Eventhoughbadthingshappen,hes
choosingtomakethingshappenforhimself.
Transcendentalismfocusesonwhatapersoncandofor
themselves,nomatterwhatpeoplethink,thisisagood
exampleofthis.