Everyday Canvas

Nature and Emotions

Prompt: "O, money can't buy the delights of the Glen, nor poetry sing all its charms: There's a solace and calm never described by the pen when were folded within nature's arms!" James Rigg Be inspired and write about your reflections from this quote.

-----

I think this quote is a derivative of an Emerson poem titled, Nutting Time, which goes like "0, money can't buy the delights of the glen,/ Nor Poetry sing all its charms/ There's a solace and calm ne'er described by the pen / When we're folded within nature's arms!" as it praises the beauty and healing power of nature.

The loveliness of nature can have a profound impression upon the senses, letting the outer world affect the inner with feelings like awe and amazement as well as imparting a soothing effect on the psyche.

This usually happens not only because of the beauty of nature itself but also because of our perception of it. In close observation, everything in nature has beauty but our perception picks and chooses with what it wants to influence on our senses.

It never occurs to us to question why we experience nature in any one way. I think it is because, as living organisms ourselves, we find solace in seeing the growth and development in other living things, and that they have colors, fragrances, and beauty is the icing on the cake.

Do you think people are aware of their own emotional needs and habits all the time? What about artists and writers? Are they more aware than other people?

=====

Most of our needs are emotional. Even food and shelter. Just think about it. Why do we need nice houses and an excess amount of food?

I don’t think we are always consciously aware of our own emotional needs. Otherwise, our lifestyles would be totally different. The way we treat one another would be very different, as well.

Artists and writers are people, too. While they may not be much aware of their own emotional needs and habits, since they are watchers and observers of humans and nature, they are more aware of other people’s emotional needs.

Writers, more so than other artists, however, may be more aware of themselves as their own characteristics and emotions usually show up in their work, whether they have planned on writing about those or not. This is because writers measure, remember, and examine their feelings and emotions, albeit subconsciously, while they create characters and build imaginary worlds. This must be why the writing teachers say, “emotion in the writer, emotion in the character.”

For this reason, writers are aware that fictional characters, also, have interior lives, and even though they can’t be expected to compete with complex human beings, most readers react favorably if fictional characters resemble the people in real life.