More beautiful than it is useful

"This curious world we inhabit is more wonderful than convenient; more beautiful than it is useful; it is more to be admired and enjoyed than used."

Those words easily could be stated by an environmental leader of the 21st Century. But such is not the case.

The statement was made in 1837 by Henry David Thoreau to the graduating class of Harvard University.

Thoreau was a disciple of his New England contemporary, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who expressed a similar sentiment with the famous quote "things are in the saddle and ride mankind."

If Emerson were able to view the contemporary scene, he would be amazed at how the modern world has taken the preoccupation with "things" to heights (or depths) no doubt well beyond his imagination.

Thoreau and Emerson gave early warnings concerning the downside of technology and materialism, especially at the expense of an understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

"We are in a great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas, but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing to communicate," Thoreau suggested.

He added another humorous example:

"We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic...but perchance the first news that will leak through the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough."

The wisdom of these 19th Century writers is valuable today as we live in a world in which the so-called practical and useful seem often to take precedence over the wonderful and beautiful.

This can be seen in education, which increasingly is viewed as a means to an end rather than valuable in itself.

We were fortunate to have attended a liberal arts college which stressed the intrinsic value of learning, not just as an avenue to a better job or more income, but as a road to a greater appreciation of life itself. This is a concept sometimes forgotten in our modern educational institutions.

"I am well-traveled in Concord," Thoreau said, meaning there was an intense world to enjoy within the confines of his Massachusetts hometown. Again, that is often a foreign concept in our modern society as we seem constantly looking for stimulation and satisfaction everywhere but in our own immediate surroundings. Thoreau, with his famous time spent on Walden Pond, effectively explained the value of everyday experiences and an appreciation of the natural world.

We have commented before on the pressures that young people face to "go out into the world" and become a "success" -- not necessarily a negative concept -- but we urge them not to downplay the more basic values of home, family and simplicity in searching for true joy and meaning in life.

Our society does try to force people into certain "success tracks" without recognizing the potential downside of such a lifestyle, including the obvious tendency to emphasize material gain at the expense of spiritual and emotional well-being.

Emerson warned against being pressured into roles that may not be in the best interest of the individual -- "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

One of our favorite writers, Wendell Berry, stresses the value of the simpler life and the appreciation of the natural world from his position as both an author and farmer in rural Kentucky.

One of his passages describes a trip he and his granddaughter (she handled the team for the first time that day) made in a wagon hauling a load of dirt for the barn floor on a cold sunny day at his Kentucky farm. The passage beautifully portrays the simple and basic aspects of life that can lead to sound relationships and real love.

"We completed our trip to the barn, unloaded our load of dirt, smoothed it over the barn floor, and wetted it down. By the time we started back up the creek road the sun had gone over the hill and the air had turned bitter. Katie sat close to me in the wagon, and we did not say anything for a long time. I did not say anything because I was afraid that Katie was not saying anything because she was cold and tired and miserable and perhaps homesick; it was impossible to hurry much, and I was unsure how I would comfort her.

But then, after a while, she said, "Wendell, isn't it fun?"

--REK