My favorite poem

When asked about a favorite poem, it is an arduous task as I have many favorites which have brought me what I needed to hear or know at that time. Words illumine and give me hope to live a new day with gusto and verve.

To choose one, I chose,

Leisure by W. H. DAVIES

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare

Today, if someone had to ask me “How are you? or What are you doing?”  It makes me feel extremely important to say I am busy, I have a lot of appointments and I stretch myself thin, but I manage beautifully. After all, I am successful and this is a definition.

What if I answered, I am free? What feelings do they evoke in me? A sense of not-needed, not productive, not contributive to the largess of the environment?

But then how important am I actually? And to whom? And why?

With experience, I have learned that life is lived best with happy co-dependence. Self-independence is a myth perpetuated by media that makes us lonely, sad human beings.

I urge all to connect, and reach out, (take me-solitude time to recharge when required), but otherwise find your tribe to share and laugh with. We all require each other in variable amounts and let us honour our dependencies with humility. Let us lead a life of grace, peace, and inner calm where we make time to stop and stare at the flowers and read the emotions emitting from the eyes of our tribe. To heal and be with. Life is beautiful and so are we.

Life is yours, & Bliss is within.

Light & Love,

Dr Naaz