I went for a bike ride yesterday to visit the local "erratic rock" (a boulder that was transported here thousands of years ago by glacial flows). Once I was there, I took out a pen and some Emerson and dug in. From up on the hill, I had great views of the surrounding vineyards, and in the distance I think I could see Mt. Hood. It was a lovely, peaceful afternoon.
I've only started reading Emerson's "Nature", but I already feel like we are kindred spirits. Emerson radically changed American intellectual and spiritual thought by positioning the natural world at the center as something holy. His outlook seems most closely aligned to modern-day Pagans, who can be found reveling in the changing seasons during the solstice, but also makes me think of the U.U. principle about the "interdependent web of life, of which we are a part".
Emerson also encourages us to be mindful and intentionally engaged with the world, which reminds me of one of my favorite writers, the buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. But what I really love about Emerson is his uninhibited sense of joy.
He writes, "Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear." These lines remind me of my friend Sarah Edwards, who I feel most closely embodies this sentiment.
On the way back home, I stumbled upon a virtual sea of alpacas! Pretty awesome. They were surprisingly interested in me, which I found bizzare, but also kind of sublime. Perhaps I've found my calling?
