Passion Of John Muir

John Muir was one of the most passionate men of all time on preservation of the land. Few of his time, found Yosemite; considered by some to be the “garden of eve”, to be something that future generations would always enjoy. Unlike most men of his time, Muir was not focused on exploiting Yosemite, but instead to protect it. This life long passion of John was what gave him his nickname as “Father of our National Parks”. Many books have been wrote about John Muir but the most famous is of his personal journal called My First Summer in the Sierra. This book shows perfectly John Muir’s love and outlook of the land. John describes every little detail of the Sierras, bringing it to life and ultimately personifying the land. John accounted every little detail on his trip, from the bristle of leaves in the wind, to an ant walking below him. This profound love of nature was almost spiritual, realizing that “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” I strongly believe that John Muir’s intentions were always in the right place and morally correct, as the

preservation of Yosemite still stands today.
Not only was John Muir insanely passionate about the preservation of nature, but he was also able to make others perspective on the land change.

Theodore Roosevelt was one of the men whose opinion was changed by Muir, ultimately leading to the change of Yosemite to a state park. Though John Muir was a selfish man, he always put nature first. Some believe that having the right intentions and morals means taking care of others before yourself or anything else. Others believe right intentions are putting your care and effort in something you believe. But no matter your stance on John Muir, I believe his intentions were always in the right place despite your definition of “good morals”. John Muir never hurt anyone, nor anything. Whatever his action or decision, it was always to move one step closer to becoming one with nature and preserving it from any

harm.
John Muir not only was an astounding environmentalist, but I would also consider him as some sort of spiritualist. The way he looked and lived with nature was no other of his time. It was very similar as the native americans way of life, or as some buddhist live. John Muir lived with no hatred, greed, or delusion of life. Just like the buddhist, John Muir lived in harmony and love with nature. Just like the wind flowing through the mountains, John lived with the flow of the land, never leaving a trace of harm or destruction. He lived with nature, becoming a part of it and believing no one should own or control the land.
Ultimately, I find it very hard to see and believe that John Muir's intentions were not morally correct. No harm was ever caused in his way of life, and thanks to his dedication of preserving Yosemite, we now have a state park that everyone can enjoy for generations to come. John Muir’s spiritual living with nature has also gave us all something that is just as powerful if not more than the beauty of Yosemite. He showed us all a beauty of nature as a whole that the majority of the world would pass by without a second thought. From the soft sound of swishing of leaves in the wind, to an army of ants working together to survive, and most importantly: the vibrant and loud world that has always been there, and hopefully always will. ““Every morning, arising from the death of sleep, the happy plants and all our fellow animal creatures great and small, and even the rocks, seemed to be shouting, "Awake, awake, rejoice, rejoice, come love us and join in our song. Come! Come!”