This one was from my newsletter, but I decided to also post it here, because who couldn't use a little wisdom from a great poet?
I was reading the other day about the famous American poet, Walt
Whitman, and learned that at the age of 53 he suffered a stroke that
left him partially paralyzed, yet he still managed to keep a positive
outlook for the rest of his life and find joy in the natural world.
During our present times, when so many people are struggling in the face
of this continuing pandemic, I find his reaction to that debilitating
setback to be an inspiration.
I wonder if I was in a similar situation to Whitman, and lost my freedom
of movement, would I be able to muster such enthusiasm for life? He
makes the case that much of it comes down to managing one's
expectations.
In his book, Specimen Days, Whitman shares his philosophy:
The trick is, I find, to tone your wants and tastes low down enough,
and make much of negatives, and of mere daylight and the skies.
Later he goes on to say:
After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics,
conviviality, love, and so on — have found that none of these finally
satisfy, or permanently wear — what remains? Nature remains; to bring
out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or woman with
the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons — the sun by day
and the stars of heaven by night.
Whitman also speaks of the importance of friends and loved ones in his
life. As he wrote in a letter to a friend on his 64th birthday:
I easily tire, am very clumsy, cannot walk far; but my spirits are
first-rate. I go around in public almost every day — now and then take
long trips, by railroad or boat, hundreds of miles — live largely in the
open air — am sunburnt and stout, (weigh 190) — keep up my activity and
interest in life, people, progress, and the questions of the day. About
two-thirds of the time I am quite comfortable. What mentality I ever
had remains entirely unaffected; though physically I am a
half-paralytic, and likely to be so, long as I live. But the principal
object of my life seems to have been accomplish’d — I have the most
devoted and ardent of friends, and affectionate relatives — and of
enemies I really make no account.
I think that with the challenges facing so
many of us over these past few years, there is certainly a valuable
lesson in these words. Now more than ever, it's important to appreciate
the good things in life and keep it all in perspective.
My own challenge currently is that as I continue to write each day, I'm
simultaneously getting started on a nine-week radiation treatment for
prostate cancer. It will involve daily sessions until the end of
October. I'm glad to have my creative outlet to keep me otherwise
occupied, but not sure how productive I am going to be during this
time. We'll just have to see.
Whatever challenges you might be facing yourself, I hope you can find
some inspiration in Whitman's words as well, to go outside, look up at
the sky and breathe in the beauty of this miracle of a planet that we
are fortunate enough to call home.
