The Beauty of Solitude

Wordsworth(y) of Spring

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

-William Wordsworth

Maybe no color represents the start of spring like yellow. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, What about green? How could you possibly go against the overwhelmingly obvious shade that seems to dominate this season of bi-polar weather? I guess it’s the “pop” factor of the daffodils, forsythia and goldenrod that always seems to catch my eye. And while both seem to come and go rather quickly each and every year, their appearance has always signified rebirth and a fresh start.

It’s funny how you start to recognize different things the older you get. This spring I have noticed how some daffodils seem to just pop up rather randomly in various spots every March and April. Of course, most daffodil bulbs are intentionally planted, like those seen every spring at Cleveland’s Lakeview Cemetery on its famous Daffodil Hill. These type of places can be breathtaking, but it’s the rather arbitrary blooms found here and there that serve the following important reminders:

1. The beautiful things in life are not always planned and then planted.

2. We will be pleasantly surprised throughout life, often in places we least expect.

3. The people and things the critics of the world see as out of place will sprout and grow regardless of their opinions.

4. The seeds that scatter in the wind will more often than not find the place needed for growth.

5. Every year, God will find a way to make things new and beautiful.

6. Sometimes a single, isolated flower is as stunning to behold as thousands of them.

7. Solitude isn’t always a bad thing.

The English Poet William Wordsworth was mildly obsessed with daffodils during his lifetime. In his poem The Daffodils, the one-time Poet Laureate of England writes about how people often feel a sense of withdrawal every spring when the familiar flowers push through the earth and that there is “bliss” for us when it comes to this yearly feeling of solitude.

We often link the word solitude with loneliness, but according to Wordsworth that shouldn’t be so. Too often people and things distract us from appreciating nature’s loveliness, and it is only when you are alone that you can be completely dialed-in to its splendor. True appreciation is often achieved in a state of solitude—something that isn’t always possible today in our world of technological distraction.

Sometimes it’s when we are separated from those we love, whether for short or long periods of time, that the most personal growth occurs as we are forced to sink or swim. What’s amazing is the resultant solitude becomes the fertile soil needed for this to occur.

Fifty years ago today, my older sister Katie was born. Much like many of the familiar flowers that dot the spring landscape, Kate has landed in a place that she herself probably never would have imagined. The third daughter born to my parents has built a life hundreds of miles from the rest of her family, and while it’s at times incredibly hard being so far away, this loving mother of five has flourished in spite of the resultant solitude. She has truly blossomed—not where she was first planted—but where God has led her.

As the days grow longer and the mercury rises on the thermometer, it’s a common occurrence that like William Wordsworth our “heart with pleasure fills.” His belief in the importance of solitude is not widely accepted by our younger generations. Maybe if they learn to put down their devices and go for a walk every now and again they will see that no more worthy words have ever been spoken about how to enjoy the glorious yellow hues so prevalent of this time of year.

-Tommy O’Sionnach