On a country drive north of London earlier this month, I spotted this scene and was reminded of a Wordsworth poem. Could only remember one line which I looked up on my daughter's iPhone and instantly the verses were at my fingertips!I wondered lonely as a cloud
That floats high oer 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
. . .(verses omitted)
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
I reflected on "the bliss of solitude". . .does the youngest generation recognize it? Has the "inward eye" been developed?
Probably. I believe the inward eye is an integral part of the human brain; exercise is important to its development, however. Who knows? Perhaps constant music from an Ipod exercises the development of the inner eye. Music is powerful.
Because I could immediately access the words of William Wordworth in the rental car in rural England, my life was enhanced. The electronic tech-savvy
generation have wonderful new levels in the pleasures of the mind.
Sooner or later, every human is faced with solitude-sometimes blissful, sometimes as a cold black wall. Life should always include a search for inspiration for the inward eye.
