Transcendentalism Unit Project by Hau-Rivero, Meusael (STUDENT)

“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, - that is genius” (Emerson, "Self Reliance").

sn355309 — 2024-02-16 16:45:39 UTC

I found this quote valuable because many people, like myself, believe that their thoughts and opinions are wrong. They lack confidence in themselves and begin to doubt themselves, and so they never get the opportunity to express how they are feeling. We are always too afraid to speak up for fear of getting criticized by others. But this quote inspires me to share more of what's on my mind. It reassures me that sharing my thoughts to the open is not only good for me, but also considered genius.

"Our life is frittered away by details. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest" (Walden, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For-").

sn355309 — 2024-02-16 17:09:17 UTC

I found this quote valuable because I completely agree with it. People make things more complicated than they really should be. Life would be much easier if we simplified things and stopped taking everything so seriously. If we lived life more simply we'd be more at ease and things would be much peaceful. I'll apply this to my life by not overthinking things. By not going far and beyond what I'm told to do.

”The grand necessity, then, for our bodies, is to keep warm, to keep the vital heat in us...Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind” (Walden, "Economy").

sn355309 — 2024-02-16 20:42:39 UTC

I do not agree with the statement that the only thing important to us is keeping our bodies warm and living. While yes, luxuries aren't needed, it's something we've become accustomed to. A lifestyle without the comforts of life would be extremely boring and unpleasant. I could not live in joy just from being isolated in the forest, I'd find life boring and many others would also agree. These luxuries like our phones, transportation, and other things are items that make our lives much easier to live in. Without them, it makes living and working much harder than it already is.

"No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it" (Emerson, "Self-Reliance".

sn355309 — 2024-02-16 21:06:31 UTC

I disagree with this statement because laws are set in place to make the world a safer and better place. Without laws, while people would have more freedom, it would allow more room for people to do evil acts. If people did everything that they wanted and didn't abide by the rules and laws, then the world would be in complete chaos. The laws were made so that we could function as a Nation.

"What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think" (Emerson, "Self Reliance").

sn355309 — 2024-02-17 07:33:03 UTC

I found this quote valuable because I connect to this on a personal level. People tend to let the opinions of others influence them. But people have to learn to only focus on themselves and not what others think. I already demonstrate this practice by not caring what others think. I only focus on myself, what other people think doesn't concern me because our beliefs are different. By doing what I want and not what others think is right, I'm able to be content with myself knowing I'm living life the way I wanted.