
The title of this blog entry is actually from “Lines. Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour. July 13, 1798" written by William Wordsworth. Commonly referred to as “Tintern Abbey”, it is one of his most revered and studied poems. Wordsworth's philosophy was that nature has the power to heal and nurture the human spirit. He believed that there is a divine spirit pervading all the objects of nature, and this poem traces the development of the love he held for the natural world. Personally, I truly find solace and a sense of peace when I step outside to be part of, and capture, the beauty and life that surrounds us. No matter what is transpiring in the world around me, or what thoughts may be occupying my mind at the time, nature is the doorway to peace for my soul.
One of my favorite passages, an excerpt from his third stanza, reads as follows:
Knowing that Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain-winds be free
To blow against thee:
"Nature never did betray, the heart that loved her."
10/10/2019
The title of this blog entry is actually from “Lines. Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour. July 13, 1798" written by William Wordsworth. Commonly referred to as “Tintern Abbey”, it is one of his most revered and studied poems. Wordsworth's philosophy was that nature has the power to heal and nurture the human spirit. He believed that there is a divine spirit pervading all the objects of nature, and this poem traces the development of the love he held for the natural world. Personally, I truly find solace and a sense of peace when I step outside to be part of, and capture, the beauty and life that surrounds us. No matter what is transpiring in the world around me, or what thoughts may be occupying my mind at the time, nature is the doorway to peace for my soul.
One of my favorite passages, an excerpt from his third stanza, reads as follows:
Knowing that Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life, to lead
From joy to joy: for she can so inform
The mind that is within us, so impress
With quietness and beauty, and so feed
With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,
Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,
Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain-winds be free
To blow against thee: