Mute and Not So Mute

The not so mute part:

When I read I tend to juggle books a bit, switching from one to the next. I am reading one behind the scenes look at the birth of our Constitution derived from James Madison's copious notes and another, a distilled version of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays. Both interesting books, but the Emerson essays on Self-Reliance are truly riveting. He does speak of god, but not as a being, but an abstract concept that holds every particle of the universe together, interconnecting those particles in a Universal Soul of which we are part. He inspires one to look inside him or herself to find the truth, to find their way in the world. The editor of the book compared it to several radio stations playing at the same time and a person tuning in just one, going beyond the static of every day life to find the god within. Emerson was very Buddhist like in his thoughts. In fact he wrote an essay on transcendentalism and recommended periods of silent thought to allow the true voice to come out. I have a long ways to go through these abridged essays, but I feel very inspired so far. He likened life to a river that has obstacles on one side and clear sailing on the other. It is up to us to recognize our particular talents and allow then to guide us through the unobstructed part of the river.

Sad but I remember banging my head against the desk in high school trying to induce unconsciousness to make the lessons on Emerson stop, but now have a very different point of view and find in them answers to questions that have plagued me for some time. The interconnection between everything in the universe, including myself and my fellow man is something that I have long thought about and these essays are bringing it all into sharp focus. The title of the book is "Self-Reliance: The Wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson as Inspiration for Daily Living," edited by Richard Whelan.