Aristotle argued, “Moderation in all
things.” Several of the authors in the Nature themed section we have been
reading would agree too that moderation in all things is key in successfully
living to the fullest. Henry D. Thoreau and Edward Abbey are two authors that
stood out to me while reading this section because I could feel their passion
and emotions strongly through their writing. They both agree that by
simplification and moderation in all things, everyone can be happy; nature and
man.
For example,
Edward Abbey in his work Polemic:
Industrial Tourism and the National Park states, “Although wilderness is a
fine thing, certain adjustments and compromises are necessary in order to meet
the demand for outdoor recreation” (pg. 387). This statement was a statement
made after Abbey strongly explained his feelings against nature being used for
modern recreation. Abbey believes that nature, specifically national parks, is
being corrupted by roads, electricity lines, outlets, trash, etc. His biggest
wish is that nature would be left alone by tourism and luxury and be left for
those that really use nature in the correct way by re- connecting themselves to
something bigger. Abbey stating that compromises and adjustments need to be
made for modern recreation is his way of having moderation in all things. He
realizes that his wishes are extreme and not really possible with the
viewpoints of everyone in this world and so agrees to compromise and have
moderation so that everyone can enjoy nature.
Another
example besides Abbey’s I would like to use to prove that moderation in all
things is the way to successful living is that of Henry D. Thoreau. In his work
Selections from WALDEN he states, men
. . . so occupied by factitious cares and
coarse labors of life . . . cannot pluck its finer fruits (pg. 350).” By this
statement he was trying to open men’s eyes up to the fact that they are not
living in moderation and suffering because of it. Thoreau knows that working is
part of life; people need money to survive. But he is trying to make people
realize that working too much or playing too much is distracting the mind of
what really matters. The finer fruits like family, relaxation, challenging the
mind, love, etc. all come from simplifying life and engaging in Aristotle’s
idea of moderation.
In class a
few weeks ago, power point presentations were given discussing some of the world’s
biggest nature issues. Emily’s issue about using recycled materials to build
houses is one that stood out to me. She gave great ideas and statistics that proved
how successful and helpful using recycled materials for building products could
be. The only thing bad about her presentation was that along with the pros of
using recycled materials to make a house, there were many cons. All the cons
and pros got me thinking of maybe a happy medium that could be used and I
thought of maybe not making a whole house out of recycled products but maybe
building certain parts in recycled materials to help cut down on the cons of
recycled houses. It would be cool to have the new fad be houses made out of
bamboo instead of wood. It grows extremely fast and is easy to build with
because it is flexible. I think that would be a good economic decision that
includes Aristotle’s idea of moderation.
Moderation
is hard concept for many to grab upon because it is hard to achieve.
Controlling the human minds wants and needs takes energy and strength so many
people are against moderation. They feel divulging in every craving and want
that pops into their head is the right thing to do because at that moment it
makes them happy. I can agree that, that sounds amazing; I would love to have
everything I want in as much quantity as I want. I realize though that over
using or underusing in life causes consequences. Too much food makes you fat,
not enough makes you malnutritioned.
Spending a lot of money gives you great material gifts, but it corrupts
your life and leaving always unsatisfied, but spending no money at all would
leave your needs unfulfilled and put you in a bad situation.
In
conclusion I agree fully with Aristotle’s quote “Moderation in all things.”
Although it would be nice to engage in every want that I have, it feels even
nicer in the long run to live in moderation and balance. Moderation is key to
personal happiness and the wellness/happiness of everyone on earth. With
moderation comes a clear mind, real lasting happiness, and a strong grasp upon
what is most important in this life. 
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