Respond to the following Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes.
"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."
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
"To believe your own thought," it seems as though since childhood, children are told to believe in themselves and to not be afraid, to express everything they feel. However, it is as though one only takes that thought in for the early stages of one’s life. The approaching of adulthood seems to send everything in to chaos, it poses a threat to all understanding formed in earlier years. No longer is one “[believing] [his] own thought, [believing] that which is true for [him] in [his] private thought is true for all men.” This period of time from childhood to adulthood makes one question his morals and what his heart is telling him. One starts to just ‘go with the flow’ and live by cliché ideas instead of going where his heart is directing him. It is as if he is having struggle of power within him, struggling with what will end up consuming his life: conforming to what the world and his peers want, or doing what his heart feels is most comfortable for him. Emerson’s words are very wise and true. He sees life very clearly, whereas others see life through a film, it is as if he has figured out a way to penetrate the film and inform the world of what is on the other side. He knows that the heart is the truest of all places, in it lay secrets, regrets and the inner workings of our identities. Believing in one’s heart is the best advice he can give to those in younger generations, the message is to believe that everyone is feeling just the same way. Everyone lives within a shell that protects them from confrontations and from being different. What Emerson is promoting is free thought, to not be teared down by what a friend or teacher says, rather he believes that we should be much more interested in what we are feeling inside our hearts and to have confidence that everyone is going through the same type of issues and are feeling the same way.
“Trust thyself,” those two words seem so easy to follow however modern day culture has aided in hardening into us that ‘going with the flow’ and gaining confidence through numbers seems to be smarter. Contrary to that thought, one’s natural instinct is to believe in himself. One’s heart tells him what to think, say and do, it is the center of the body, the thing that keeps the whole body functioning healthy, so why is it one abandons his nature, the thing that wants to help him and tries to find a loop hole to escape from his own thoughts and feelings?
One is always told to have goals and to believe in those goals, however, he always seems to second guess them when he is being questioned about what he wants to achieve. These quotes stand for unique thought and standing firm for his own belief and his own goals, more importantly, for people who read this quote to see how it reflects in their own lives and for readers to create for themselves their own personal identity, that is as solid as a safe room for when the tornadoes and hurricanes of life strike, this identity is safely hidden and cannot be assaulted.
To conform to this world is like willingly giving up one’s favourite dessert and instead having it replaced by the vegetable one hates the most, simply because everyone around him is doing that. Surrendering to the world will ultimately shred one’s identity to pieces, leaving no hope for it to be repaired. The only cure is to be confidant in what one feels and to make oneself feel worthy to have his own thoughts that are different from everyone else’s. To be able to create such an identity that is based on personal thought and morals and self empowerment, now “that is genius.”
"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."
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
"To believe your own thought," it seems as though since childhood, children are told to believe in themselves and to not be afraid, to express everything they feel. However, it is as though one only takes that thought in for the early stages of one’s life. The approaching of adulthood seems to send everything in to chaos, it poses a threat to all understanding formed in earlier years. No longer is one “[believing] [his] own thought, [believing] that which is true for [him] in [his] private thought is true for all men.” This period of time from childhood to adulthood makes one question his morals and what his heart is telling him. One starts to just ‘go with the flow’ and live by cliché ideas instead of going where his heart is directing him. It is as if he is having struggle of power within him, struggling with what will end up consuming his life: conforming to what the world and his peers want, or doing what his heart feels is most comfortable for him. Emerson’s words are very wise and true. He sees life very clearly, whereas others see life through a film, it is as if he has figured out a way to penetrate the film and inform the world of what is on the other side. He knows that the heart is the truest of all places, in it lay secrets, regrets and the inner workings of our identities. Believing in one’s heart is the best advice he can give to those in younger generations, the message is to believe that everyone is feeling just the same way. Everyone lives within a shell that protects them from confrontations and from being different. What Emerson is promoting is free thought, to not be teared down by what a friend or teacher says, rather he believes that we should be much more interested in what we are feeling inside our hearts and to have confidence that everyone is going through the same type of issues and are feeling the same way.
“Trust thyself,” those two words seem so easy to follow however modern day culture has aided in hardening into us that ‘going with the flow’ and gaining confidence through numbers seems to be smarter. Contrary to that thought, one’s natural instinct is to believe in himself. One’s heart tells him what to think, say and do, it is the center of the body, the thing that keeps the whole body functioning healthy, so why is it one abandons his nature, the thing that wants to help him and tries to find a loop hole to escape from his own thoughts and feelings?
One is always told to have goals and to believe in those goals, however, he always seems to second guess them when he is being questioned about what he wants to achieve. These quotes stand for unique thought and standing firm for his own belief and his own goals, more importantly, for people who read this quote to see how it reflects in their own lives and for readers to create for themselves their own personal identity, that is as solid as a safe room for when the tornadoes and hurricanes of life strike, this identity is safely hidden and cannot be assaulted.
To conform to this world is like willingly giving up one’s favourite dessert and instead having it replaced by the vegetable one hates the most, simply because everyone around him is doing that. Surrendering to the world will ultimately shred one’s identity to pieces, leaving no hope for it to be repaired. The only cure is to be confidant in what one feels and to make oneself feel worthy to have his own thoughts that are different from everyone else’s. To be able to create such an identity that is based on personal thought and morals and self empowerment, now “that is genius.”
Journal Comments
ReplyDeleteThe focus of this journal was to show us how humanity kept us from following our own thoughts, and instead to follow the thoughts that others have set out for us. The introduction was very concise, and it gives us an idea of what the journal would be about. One thing I liked was the good diction included in this journal. The sophisticated choice of words made this more interesting to read, as well as more engaging. I also thought that you had a very deep insight into what the two qoutes were about. One thing to work on with this journal was to maybe not make it too long. Not that it was a bad thing, but you seemed to repeat some of the things you already said.
Praise: I loved your ideas, and your diction
Polish: You should work on make your sentences more concise.
Ponder: Why is it that we only listen to other's ideas, instead of believing and trusting ourselves?
~Cristina =)