Longfellow Lives Today

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is remembered as the American poet who wrote The Song of Hiawatha and Paul Revere’s Ride. But what amazes me as I revisit his A Psalm of Life, is that this 19th century writer could have been a contemporary of mine!

(All his work is in the public domain.)

I usually think that the debate over whether this life is truth or illusion is a 21st century thing, caused by movies. Not so! Longfellow took sides on it.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.

Okay — but what of my modern interest in stoicism, and my Mindfulness practice of being in the present moment?

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day.

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, — act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!

One of my hardest lessons in life has been to have Patience. All good things come, but they cannot be rushed. Hard work is necessary, but then I must have the endurance to let the results take their own natural time. What does Longfellow say about that?

Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.

I’ve left out a few stanzas, but every single one is a shining gem. Type the first line of the poem into Search, and you will get the whole thing. If you’re not familiar with it, I think you will be glad you did.

There is a reason why the greats are given that title. It’s because their words still breathe life today.

A human, not an AI text generator, wrote this story. (More Info)