Warning: What I'm about to write is a total contradiction of my last post
On Sunday I read the first few pages of Emerson's Nature but had to put it down so I could walk into town to get my hair cut. As I was walking into town I was suddenly struck by the fact that I'm in Minnesota and really quite far from home. I thought about how far my walk had taken me (not very, I was just coming up to the tracks on St. Olaf Ave) and how long it took me to get to that point (about 20 minutes). I thought about the 370 miles that separate me from my home, my family and everything that had been my life up until 7 months ago. I kind of panicked when I thought about the immense amount of space between Northfield, Minnesota and Algonquin, Illinois. Its a lot more than I realize. I never had that feeling before. I guess living up here on the Hill in our campus community makes that gap feel a lot smaller and it took getting off campus by myself for me to really comprehend where I was.
After the moment of panic, the thought of that immense amount of space reminded me of Emerson's opening thoughts on the skies and the power the stars have to bring humans into solitude. For me, looking out to the empty highway gave me the sense of solitude I'm sure Emerson was trying to convey (without the moment of panic of course).
Clara,
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful! A contradiction that extends understanding is a sign of an open mind.
LDL
Clara
ReplyDeleteNow imagine you are in a small boat with 5 others and you need to cross 800 miles of antarctic / Atlantic ocean to hit one specific island. There's some vastness for you. Yes, I've been reading about Shackleton again. I find their ability to remain steadfast in such extreme circumstances simply remarkable.
Contradictions are often where the real essence of things can be found because that's where questions come into stark relief and ideas can interact. Which is probably why I don't care for a lot of modern art or free form jazz. If there are no boundaries then it just seems like meandering.
And sometimes a good, short panic is just what you need to get the blood going:)