Ralph Waldo Emerson, meet the concept of moderation

"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his."

In all honesty (like I'd ever be one to give any less than that), I was really overwhelmed by Emerson's piece. It was obviously very well-written--nearly every sentence seemed as though its formation had been considered extremely carefully and as though it could stand alone and still produce high impact--yet that was almost my problem with it. Emerson's writing, intentional or not, was just too heavy for me. Tone it down, Ralphie. . .

Anyway, from what I did manage to absorb and appreciate, I did find several lines that I liked a lot for the lovely way they were crafted and for the insightfulness I sensed behind them, the aforementioned quote being one of those.

I found this statement to be very truthful and appropriate support for the advice Emerson seemed to be pushing throughout the piece. Many people do underestimate the power and quality of their own ideas simply because they are the ones to think of them. It's as though some, myself included, can't trust that an idea could be a good one--or, what's more, one of the best ones--and theirs simultaneously, which is what Emerson seemed to be saying we need to overcome to keep the world moving.

Also, the message that Emerson appeared to be to presenting in this article was that of a need for fresh ideas from all people. As a result of this, he used lines like this to stress the importance of faith in one's thoughts because it is this faith that leads to the originality Emerson was convinced we needed or, at the very least, could always use.

Personally and as always (almost), I am torn by this point that Emerson seems to be trying to get across. Part of me is in agreement with the implications that lines like the one mentioned earlier and others found throughout the reading offer that belief in your own ideas is not only important but necessary for development. However, I also feel that Emerson's argument was a little contradictory and incorrect.

For example, if everyone focuses on his own original thoughts and develops his own great ideas, there doesn't appear to be much room for believing in the potential of anyone else's idea. Emerson believed that we'll achieve nothing if we don't believe in the power of our ideas, but I don't see how we can achieve much more than nothing if we're the only ones who believe in our ideas too. I think that the real method to progress and accomplishment involves a balance between having faith in your own ideas and having faith in the ideas of others because in helping them execute their ideas, you put yourself in a better place to receive help executing your own later on, thus attaining more overall.