Today was quite wonderful: I went tree climbing! The weather has been getting warmer, the sun is coming out, and I just want to be outside. Today was warm, though the sun hid later on in the afternoon and the wind came out. But I had a marvelous experience in a tree.
This morning was a harder one for me. I was in one of those lackluster moods, not really feeling motivated to do anything. And even though some days are harder than others, and some days I get started much later than others, I've determined myself to push through and keep my routine. And I did try.
But after reading my scriptures I felt a bit better, but I just couldn't find in my heart to really push through and study. I felt very listless, and non-directional. I get like that at times and have to find some way to crawl out of it. Or sometimes I just feed it because I feel like I can't get out, that I'm trapped. Today I was going to feed it. Focus on myself and my woes (which I generally have to make up, or exaggerate) and play the lonely romantic. I turned to poetry. As I scanned through the titles in one of my books one jumped out at me. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth. That was just thing! It sounded depressing and was about being alone. That was me! And then I read it:
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
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
I read that and it wasn't at all what I wanted or what I was looking for, but it was what I needed. I was in a vacant mood that was not very happy at all and the author can get out of those moods by remembering that beauty of the daffodils. I couldn't think of anything to remember.... so I went outside. I found a wonderful tree and climbed as far up as I could go. What a beautiful world. I sat up in the tree reflecting on this poem and the beauty that God has given us.
Sometimes it's so easy to forget that I am one of God's creations, let alone that I'm a daughter of God. But as I sat in that tree the wind began to blow and I opened my eyes to the fact that God created this beautiful world. As the wind gently rocked me in the branches I grew closer to the knowlage of who I am. It was a process, sitting up in the tree, connecting the dots. But I am so thankful for that poem that inspired me to do so that I could cast of my vacant state and be filled with the light of Christ.
That's wonderful Jenna. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that poem! I’m not surprised you thought it would be something different than it is at first. It’s one of the beauties of that particular poem. It’s like starting out as somewhat unhappy and lonely, but then finding something of value, a reason to love the world, a reason to remember the Lord. I’m glad you got to go climb a tree after reading that. Trees are awesome!!
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