John Muir: An Archetype of our Oneness with the Earth

Stop reading this go outside and breathe in nature.  Then come back and reflect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914^[1]) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the most well-known hiking trails in the U.S., the 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, was named in his honor.^[2] Other places named in his honor are Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier.

In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Because of the spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings, he was able to inspire readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas.^[3] He is today referred to as the “Father of the National Parks,”^[4] and the National Park Service produced a short documentary on his life.^[5]

Muir’s biographer, Steven J. Holmes, states that Muir has become “one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity,” both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted in books by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams.^[6] “Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world,” writes Holmes.^[7] Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name “almost ubiquitous” in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified “the archetype of our oneness with the earth”,^[8] while biographer Donald Worster says he understood his mission to be “saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism.”^[9]:403

Some beautiful quotes, reflecting his nature.  It is indeed the real world.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5297.John_Muir

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

“The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”

“Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”