Nature Never Did Betray The Heart That Loved Her.
Lines Composed…Above Tintern Abbey, by William Wordsworth
….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.
In the midst of work and our busy lives, if we are not careful we lose our sense of joy and wonder in the natural world around us. William Wordsworth, who did a five day inspiring walkabout through Wales in the 1790s, said Nature can lead us “from joy to joy”–and this is the time of year to allow that to happen! Some of us live in areas where we have a few snows remaining. Even so, signs of Spring are beginning to be obvious. I can see a faint, green hue on the seemingly bare branches. In some parts of the country flowers are already in bloom. It is a wonderful time of the year for realizing all which we behold is full of blessings.
I particularly like the lines in this excerpt from Wordsworth’s poem that promises Nature can give us such quietness, beauty and lofty thoughts in our minds and hearts that all the negative situations we encounter will not shake our faith: We can smile and know we are blessed to live in a beautiful world. (Wordsworth uses a wonderful phrase to describe one of the negative things we might encounter: “…greetings where no kindness is.” I would imagine you have had plenty of those greetings in your life!)
Starting today, track the progress of Spring. Watch and listen for all the little aspects of nature that are changing and becoming fresh and new because of the changing Season. I have noticed the birds are louder in the evening than they were a few months ago! Then, share your renewed good feelings by purposely giving people you meet a greeting where kindness is.
I often paraphrase the Apostle Paul, from the New Testament, and say, “Keep the faith!” This week I will change that and paraphrase William Wordsworth by saying, “Keep the cheerful faith!”
