i wondered lonely as a cloud william wordsworth

Right now, I still plan to put those earbuds in when I run at the gym. I missed listening to my music and using the music to help me get through my run but then as I paused to think about it, why was I using the music to help me “get through” something? Is it possible I might enjoy running more if I was more attuned to how my body was reacting during the run? I don’t know but I plan to found out next time I run outdoors. I took deeper breaths to take in the intoxicating scents of spring - little wisps of sweet hyacinths and the odor of manure mulch a landscaping service was unpacking from their trucks near a home. Without the music to distract me, all of my senses were on alert - including my sense of smell. What I didn’t realize is that it wasn’t just the new sounds I was hearing, but the new smells I was inhaling, too. I forced myself to take in my surroundings, hear the birds chirping, the kids laughing at the playground during their recess, the hum and honks of the cars driving past me. I really connect with poems that help us appreciate, or at least try to appreciate, nature.

It was inspired by a journal entry his sister wrote recounting when the two of them went for a walk along the bay and saw a large number of daffodils. This week I ran the first time without my ear buds playing music to help me. 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' is one of Wordsworth's most famous poems. But I pressed on, hoping I could get to a place where it wouldn’t feel odd. Like I needed to fill in the time and space with something, anything. While I need complete silence to write and work, silence when I’m not working felt off to me. I’ll raise my hand and admit I was among those people. Silence and mindfulness are not something many of us, I’ve quickly realized, are comfortable with even though research has shown that silence helps to reduces stress. I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high oer Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, Continuous as the stars that shine. In his poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, which I share below thanks to The Poetry Foundation which has it on its website, Wordsworth welcomes the silence, calling it the bliss of solitude. It’s no wonder by the end of the day we’re fried, hoping we can find solace in the comfort of a hot bath or warm cup of tea. The speaker says that, wandering like a cloud floating above hills and valleys, he encountered a field of daffodils beside a lake. Noise surrounds us: both audible and visible. Many of us live in a world of constant chaos.

I wondered lonely as a cloud william wordsworth