Just The Bare Necessities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o 


             William Wordsworth, unlike our current society, says the best life is the life lived simply. Because in this simple, also known as rustic, condition "our elementary feelings coexist in a state of greater simplicity, and consequently, may be more accurately contemplated, and more forcibly communicated". In our current everyday lives, we are taught to be social butterflies. However, if one never spends some alone to gather their thoughts and simply regurgitates that which the popular public believes, one will never have their own convictions to live by. Therefore, their feelings will simply be copy-cats of others' views. 
  
            Wordsworth says, "for all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings". However, if an individual doesn't possess any powerful feelings that are primarily there own, then they can never be a good poet. William continues along this train of thought with, "For our continued influxes of feeling are modified and directed by our thoughts, which are indeed the representatives of all our past feelings". Yet, today's culture allows us to live either through others or through media sources. This leads to the danger of becoming numb to our surroundings. Without original thought, one can not make connections to past feelings. 


           This idea grows even bigger! Because Wordsworth believes, "by contemplating the relation of these general representations to each other, we discover what is really important to men, so by the repetition and continuance of this act, our feelings will be connected with important subjects, til at length, if we be originally possessed by much sensibility". Yet again, if one doesn't have original thoughts and connections to past thoughts, one can not possess common sense. 


           In conclusion, if one doesn't have their own personal thoughts, and follows our culture's example to numbness, then the person is no longer a value to society. These thoughtless copy-cats lack sense and relation to others. To combat this issue, people need to form their own opinions through educating themselves. Do not become a popular drone and prattle on about ideas that aren't even your own. 


          Question: Do you keep a journal or diary at night or throughout the day? Would keeping a journal help combat what Wordsworth says can happen to those who lack sense?