4.18.2008

The World is Too Much With Us



The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. . . .  
                    -William Wordsworth


My beautiful friend, Mamie Webb, who died at the splendid age of 99, gifted me with the love of this poem (I'll give you Mamie soon, in another post-you'll love her!).  Try this trick: Chant Wordsworth's first two lines whenever you enter a mall. His wisdom will help you leave relatively unscathed, and thankfully burdened with no more than what you first intended to buy.  I credit my aversion to shopping to Wordsworth's pen, and my love of nature to Mamie.  Here's the Skinny: This weekend, instead of going to the mall, go for a walk outside.  The mountains, the beach, the park, your garden.  Shhh. Listen. They're calling to your hungry soul. 

6 comments:

Natalie. said...

How come you're so much cooler than normal people huh?

Annie Link said...

I think it has a lot to do with having a daughter like you.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful. And I'm in LOVE with this photo you chose!

Anonymous said...

I love you "Anna"f Link!

Anonymous said...

oh...there wasn't supposed to be an "f" there...ooops...but since it is it stands for FABTASTICALICIOUS.

Anonymous said...

Aloha Annie,

I've spent the last 30 minutes smiling, laughing, crying, and just ... well ... feeling ... feeling the joys, the wonder, the heartaches, and the blessings as I tasted of your gift for sharing! Thank you!

I think continually of you, Greg, and your wonderful family. I think of Gavin a lot and remember the last talks he and I had together as I marveled at the goodness that radiated from him.

May the peace of Heaven and all that is Eternal reach across time and space to be yours now and always.

With much aloha, much caring,

Von