My favorite writer, lecturer and philosopher is Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was born in 1803, and his essays, lectures and poetry from his 79 years of life found their way into my mind and into my heart.

As a high school teacher, I would impersonate Emerson in front of my students and speak his ideas that inspired many of them to consider living an Emersonian life.

He was a pioneer of transcendentalism, which prioritizes individualism and critical thinking. He was a nonconformist who said the way to an unhappy life is to conform to the rules, regulations and behaviors of a society that demands control and obedience.

He wrote, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its members. Self-reliance is its aversion.”

Emerson created controversy when he said that man-made institutional churches influencing their parishioners held purpose for community worship, but they often failed to get people into a deeper relationship with God.

Emerson said to feel the presence of God, one must enter his natural “church” created by God alone: the deep woods where all prejudice is erased by nature’s truth.

“We are part and parcel of God,” he wrote. Writing and saying those words were criticized by religious figures who said that God is not within us. Emerson rejected their claims that the all-powerful, supreme being stands apart and in judgment of our behaviors.

Raised a Catholic, I embraced the Word of the Lord, but spending much time walking on nature’s paths and fishing in lakes and ponds has made me intensely spiritual. The surrounding silence speaks to me through the Creator.

I literally survived a dysfunctional childhood within the comfort and peace provided by waters and trees. “Nature never wears a mean spirit,” Emerson said. When I distance myself in the solitude of the living universe, I understand that the same life force that created the Earth and sky created me, too. That makes me and you special.

We were born into a universe that is billions of years old. That fact makes me feel privileged to be chosen by the Creator to be a small part of his masterful design.

Emerson is historically famous for his quotes that still have relevancy today. I’ve picked a few of my favorites to share with you.

• “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

How we feel is often a reaction to circumstances, but anger is still a decision. Think about how much of our lives we have spent being angry, and that anger rarely changes the circumstance and instead hurts our relationships.

• “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

This is one of my favorite quotes. As difficult it is to keep the past in the past, I turn the page into a new chapter of my life and begin a new day with its new experiences.

• “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”

My only response is, “Yes!”

• “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Actions always speak louder than words.

• “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

Another favorite. In their times, each of these now famous people were criticized, ridiculed or even put to death for their revolutionary ideas that threatened the status quo but have since changed the course of how we live and how we understand the operation of our universe. Certain political opinion now labels “liberals” as evil and destructive. The people Emerson listed were all liberals in their times. Those we don’t accept or understand today might become new names on this list tomorrow.

• “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”

Beautifully phrased, and these words represent me, too.

• “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. It’s not the length of life, but the depth.”

Who you decide you will be will be the measure of the quality of life you live.

• “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”

What we are afraid to do defines us as much as what we decide to do whenever difficult obstacles are put in our way.

• “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

Giving thanks benefits both the giver and the receiver.

• “To earn the respect of intelligent people and to win the affection of children; to appreciate the beauty in nature and all that surrounds us; to seek out and nurture the best in others; to give the gift of yourself to others without the slightest thought of return, for it is in giving that we receive; to have accomplished a task, whether it be saving a lost soul, healing a sick child, writing a book, or risking your life for a friend; to have celebrated and laughed with great joy and enthusiasm and sung with exaltation; to have hope even in times of despair, for as long as you have hope, you have life; to love and be loved; To be understood and to understand; To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is the meaning of success.”

This is Emerson’s most famous quote that is taped upon thousands of refrigerator doors including mine. His legacy lives on. We need more rebels who challenge our realities.

“To be great is to be misunderstood.”

Email Rich Strack at richiesadie11@gmail.com