Celebrating Ralph Waldo Emerson
His tireless optimism towards the human spirit is endlessly refreshing and continually inspiring.
“People are unhappy in large part because they are confused about what is valuable.” — William Irvine
On this day two hundred seventeen years ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. A celebrated essayist, philosopher, lecturer, and poet, Emerson’s ideas sparked American intellectualism and birthed the Transcendental movement. Inspired by such celebrated thinkers as Montaigne, Plato, Aristotle, Locke, and Rousseau, Emerson embodies the essential work of putting knowledge to action. His work invites us into the vital work of individual reflection on the customs we follow, the traditions we continue, our motivations for them, and above all, self-reliance in our ideas.
I find Emerson inspirational because he didn’t regard his intellect as a badge of honor. He was as educated as anyone could be, yet that wasn’t in itself a fulfillment for him. He advocated that books and the classroom exist in order to help you live your real life; to improve the person you are outside of school. He believed that you studied the lessons of history in order to find personal patterns and applications for your life, so that you don’t fall into the same traps as those before you…
