Friday, August 7, 2009

Bendigo State Park, Johnsonburg, PA, USA

As I was driving through the massive evergreens aligning the narrow, twisting road from Johnsonburg to Bendigo State Park, I suddenly contemplated the mood and attitude of Henry David Thoreau as he committed himself to Walden Pond, a piece of land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau placed himself among the natural wonders of the landscape, void of societal chaos, noise, and expectations. Instead, he listened to nature and fed himself the beauty of God's fine earth, untouched by artificial constructs. Today, I thought of Thoreau. Then I saw a man fishing in the river and lost my train of thought.

4 comments:

  1. I like your post... I wonder if Thoreau considered himself separate from nature ? I think the reason for the societal chaos is that mankind separates itself from Nature.. I think man , animals & nature are all created from the same cosmic goo... It is shape that separates us .. I also wonder if Thoreau saw God in Nature .... because Nature can survive without us ... But, we can not live outside of nature..( air, water, food). It is our Mommy.........There is chaos in societal constricts & nature.... Peace is a perception...

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  2. Thoreau was one with Nature. And, of course, he saw Nature and God as one, thus my capitalization of both. Interestingly, although it is our human nature to progress and to seek a higher realm as we move through life, it also seems to be in contradiction to God's purity of Nature. What do we contribute to Nature? What do we contribute to its demise? Poets and authors have addressed this through the ages, yet we blindly move on in hopes that Nature will regenerate itself in spite of our abuses.

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  3. Great stuff, Dr. Pamela! This post in particular struck me most because your words almost exactly mirror what I felt all through my stay in New Hampshire. I mean, I was actually two hours away from Walden Pond, but the way the firs, pines, and hillsides of spruces really absorbed the mist in the morning, the dappled sunlight in the afternoon, then the luminous blue of evening kept me thinking of Thoreau too, where I could almost hear his footsteps, all the time! As you say, there's this sacredness and hallowed reverence Thoreau had for Nature (my favourite chapter of his in Walden is "Sounds"), and this extended, for me, to this greatest, pulsating, living sensitivity to Nature and God, to life, and to learning, that he had and that we can only emulate. Hope to visit this blog very often! :)

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  4. Thoreau's transcendent point-of-view, which is quite evident in his chapter titled "Sounds". Just like a walk through the unpredictable, winding roads above my rural home in Pennsylvania, Thoreau leads the reader through the sublime and often meditative voice of Nature.....but along the journey, he vividly captures the sounds of Nature in all her glory...birds, owls and the rustling, unsettled leaves moved by the breath of God. Sounds of the train, the ever-present reminder that man has interrupted Nature's glory for the price of progress. Sometimes when I read Thoreau, I want to walk with him toward the brilliant light.

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