Our hour of splendor

"What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind..."

Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

by William Wordsworth

{Photo from here.}

You may recognize this stanza from Wordworth's beautiful poem from the film, Splendor in the Grass, starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. (A great film. I highly recommend it!)

I have always been fond of these particular lines of Wordsworth work. It is a very long piece but there is something about it that I have always gravitated to. If you would like to read Wordsworth's entire piece, please click here.

These lines can speak to anyone. At anytime in their life. At any point in their journey. As humans we all face joy and suffering. I think Wordsworth has a simple truth, that has humans who will all face struggles and triumphs, we must remember: there are happy moments in our lives, fleeting and precious, we must treasure our times of joy forever-especially when we are facing trials. We must hold on to the happy moments in our pasts. We must remember those warm smiles and joyful laughter shared with others, while facing struggles. We must allow those moments to "give us strength" to keep us going through our day so that we can stumble across a new happy moment and create new happy memories. We cannot grieve for what is no longer present. We cannot grieve for what was or what we have lost. If we spend too much time in the depths of sorrow of what we once knew, we become bitter and angry. And bitterness simply takes over the heart and soul, making it difficult to see the simple joys that are in your life.

So remember, allow yourself to think back to old days, to your old self but do not grieve for days past but draw strength and courage from those days for today and tomorrow.

"The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job 1:21