God is like art in that it cannot be learned, it must be experienced. To experience God, one must be brave because "God will not have his work made manifest by cowards" (Emerson). This bravery includes disregarding the risk of ridicule from others. The rewards of this connection are great, as they open us to many things. Emerson writes, "when God speaketh he should communicate, not one thing, but all things . . . Whenever a mind is simple and receives a divine wisdom, then old things pass away . . . It lives now, and absorbs past and future into the present hour" (Emerson). Here Emerson places all things in the here and now. This rhetoric is found in popular circles today. Many self-help gurus will tout living in the now as the future never arrives and the past is already gone.
Nature plays a significant role is man's fulfillment. Through an experience with nature, life-changing experiences emerge. Only in undisturbed moments with nature can man release his inhibitions, his ego, and everything else that society attempts to teach him. We need to recharge and in quiet moments, we discover new things. He writes men should "learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages" (Emerson). Emerson's advice is to "trust thyself" (Emerson), echoing similar sentiments from Shakespeare. When are true to ourselves, things become more apparent and nature and God help us achieve moments of enlightenment.
Emerson is clear about the dangers of not living a fulfilling life: it leads to discontent and disillusionment. Happiness lies in being true to oneself because the most frightening thing would be to...
Discussion Every one goes through many stages in life beginning at the time of conception, throughout life, and finally in death. Human development is important to psychologists because it can provide insight about a person and the stage he or she may be experiencing in life based on age-related changes in behavior, emotions, personality, and thought processes (Boyd & Bee, 2009). The interest of changes throughout a person's life, from childhood
This is a very important concept that has not been touched upon in the book but can actually serve as an impetus for good in one's life. Religious counseling is an important field and one that works on the same principles as general counseling but integrates religion into it. When a Christian counselor works on the mind of his patient/client, the key objective is to align them to the teachings
Life How Does a Person Live a Meaningful Life? One of the questions which have perplexed humankind is how to live a meaningful life. This is because there have been a number of theorists and philosophers, who provided insights about the best ways to achieve these objectives. Over the centuries, these views are constantly shifting. This is because experiences and social attitudes will shape a person's insights. To fully understand the meaning
Mortality and Life Review For most of us, a sense of impending mortality prompts a need to find closure, conduct a full life review and reconciliation (Clarke, 2007). The reality that death is a natural process -- leading towards an inescapable final destination -- seems implausible at first glance. For a variety of reasons, death has become a taboo subject that no longer represents an accepted progression of life, but something
Robinson's daughter. She has no dialogue of any depth...She agrees to marry a tall, blond jock...mostly because her parents will be furious with her if she doesn't. She is so witless that she misunderstands everything Benjamin says to her. When she discovers Benjamin has slept with her mother, she is horrified, but before they have ever had a substantial conversation about the subject, she has forgiven him -- apparently
Life Philosophers much older and wiser than I have wrestled with the thorny question of life's meaning, and risen from the mat covered with scratches and welts, but still without answers. The questions regarding life's meaning plague mankind at times. During times of prosperity and success, culture and man's conscious is understandably silent on the issue. There is no reason to struggle with the weighty matters of my purpose on
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