The World Is Too Much With US

This is a poem written by William Wordsworth in 1807. It’s not too often that I go around reading poetry, So I figured I would share a poem with you that is always stuck in my head. I read it about 15 years ago, memorized a different Wordsworth poem, But this one always stuck with me as well.

Even though it was written just about 200 years ago I can still relate to it which, in my opinion, makes it a great poem

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William Wordsworth: The World Is Too Much with US (1807)

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!

This 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.–Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; (1)

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, (2)

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus (3)rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton (4) blow his wreathed horn.

(1) Brought up in an outdated religion.
(2) Meadow.
(3) Greek sea god capable of taking many shapes.
(4) Another sea god, often depicted as trumpeting on a shell.

I am forced to think about life nowadays, Working 9-5 every day of the week, waiting for the weekend then vegging out for 2 days, then hitting the restart button. So many of us are so “busy” We have ‘no time’ to do the things we would love to do. Instead we spend our time working a job we dislike, so we can pay bills we don’t want. I have spent years, approximately 2 (lol) doing this 9-5 craziness. Still I get caught up in the craziness of life and I forget to “smell the roses” Then I remember that the “roses” smell GOOD! pretty cool!

For encouragement purposes if you have the time, think about the things that you can do to appreciate nature (the little there may be left) around you. I think one thing is also important, along with nature, is that there are people everywhere to meet, encourage and appreciate.

Lucky for me the mountains are not too far off! For me the things i associate when thinking about nature is to relax.. slow down. Take some time to breathe and think…

I’ll Try it if you do!