"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful. At the same
time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel
called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, poet, and philosopher, was born 25 May 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. As the leader of American Transcendentalism, which began in New England during the early part of the 1800’s, Emerson was part of a group who believed that individuals should make use of their intuition to achieve an ideal spiritual state and not merely rely on the doctrines of established religions. Henry David Thoreau is another famous American Transcendentalist. Emerson died 27 April 1882.
I like the following poem, especially the first line!
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Loved the wood-rose, and left it on its stalk?
At rich men's tables eaten bread and pulse?
Unarmed, faced danger with heart of trust?
And loved so well a high behavior,
In man or maid, that thou from speech refrained,
Nobility more nobly to repay?
O, be my friend, and teach me to be thine!
See also:
http://www.all-creatures.org/poetrydir.html
Go on to: Ralph Waldo Emerson (continued) – 20 April 2007
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