For I wander alone

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth


Beautiful poem. Who'd knew he'd quote Wordsworth...

Every June, as my birthday comes round the corner, my grandfather would send me a pink envelope wishing me fortune. There, at the back of the envelope, is a short paragragh, written in cusive. The first of these 4 paragraghs came 5 years ago, the last coming in in 2008. I never knew who he quoted from, till now, he never said, but each paragraph would end in a "to be continued..."

I treasured these 4 letters. Although I was puzzled by his choice of poem, especially when I received the first one, it seems clearer to me now. Life as a teen is full of incidences and laughter, it is fast and it is furious. With one getting so caught up in his coming-of-age party and the world, it is rather easy for him to forget himself, or the simple pleasures that solitude can bring.

We chase after wealth. We chase after companionship and recognition. We chase after grades. We chase after trends. We chase after that cute girl in school. We chase and we chase and we chase. Life is always in motion, a constant pursuit of new found material wants. We innundate ourselves in our hedonistic ways, oblivious to the world, yet fully immersed in it.

One day, when we look into the mirror and see the first signs of aging, will we start to panic about the youth lost accomplising nothing? Will we see ourselves moving so fast, dashing through all the beauties of this world yet not truly experiencing any of it?

One has to take a step back from the faceless crowd. To bask in himself as he breaks away from the presto pulse of it all. Solitude cannot be underestimated. It allows a person to enjoy, not life, but his living it. Solitude tempers the soul, strengthening one from within as he removes himself from this malestrom called society.

To live in this flux-ed up world and yet hold on to the simple truths that Man was created to uphold. Optimism, contentment, fortitude, kindness, charity, temperance, justice... All of this characters cannot be forged while we are still caught up in the corporal. We have been distracted for too long now, pushing Solitude out of our lives. It beckons us to return, when we are bogged down by school and when the weight of it all bears down on us. We should listen and do so.

So for once, fight that incessant need for your cellphone to be switched on 24/7 and seek Solitude for a minute. You may just find that rejuvenating daffodil field that Wordsworth did.