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Nature and Memories: From Childhood to Fatherhood
"It is not now as it hath been of yore:
Turn wheresoe'er I may,By night or day,
The things which I have seen
I now can see no more."
Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by:
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
As I think about the meaning of this weekend--Father's Day--I am reminded of the moving poems of William Wordsworth. In many of his poems, he speaks eloquently of the connection that we have with nature. We can almost hear the "thousand blended notes" that he describes as he sits in silent wonder surrounded by the simple beauty of nature ("Lines written in Early Spring").
The theme of connecting nature to the very soul of humanity permeates many of his poems. He shares with us his ambivalence as he vacillates between sadness and joy when contemplating our changing relationship with nature in the passage of time.This is especially obvious in his "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, briefly excerpted above.This is an especially complex poem in which he explores growth through childhood that actually begins in our heavenly "pre-existence". It is a poem of loss, regret,transition and finally, trancendence.
He shares his sadness and regret as he contemplates the loss of innocence, spontaneity and the wonder of "first discoveries" in childhood....but as he continues to reflect on the transition from childhood, he revels in the remembered childhood wonder of the grandeur of nature with this joyous cry: "Then sing,ye Birds, sing, sing a joyous song! And let the young lambs bound as to the tabor's sound". He willingly releases his grief at childhood's loss of innocence as he awakens to the delight of memory. He says:
"Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind ....
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering."
And finally, he transcends the "simple creed of childhood", embraces what is left behind and yields to what lives "in the embers...that nature yet remembers". And in the memory is the "master light of all our seeing".....
What does this tell us about the growth that will unfold on this remarkable path from being a child to becoming a father?
From Childhood to Fatherhood
The path begins with the recognition that the child is father to the man who will become a father. Clarence Budington Kelland (1881-1964), American writer said of his father...."he didn't tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it".
What will the child "watch" on this path?
How will he be guided to leave the "simple creed of childhood" to live the richness of the "embers" of memory of that precious child-time? It is from the "embers" of memory that he will learn the value of family connection: a connection that has endured for generations, whose values extend across time and ignite to burn brightly as each generation fans the embers anew.
This connection will support him as he struggles to live with ambiguity, persist in the face of adversity, be authentic in his relationships, willingly honor the truth of his human imperfections and live in harmony with all of nature.
As the songs of generations past resonate in his memory, he becomes the father that the man was destined to be. And as the spiral of life continues, he contributes his unique mark to the embers of memory that will "light the seeing" for generations yet to be. And, perhaps, with Wordsworth, raises his voice to exclaim:
"O joy! that in our embers
Is something that doth live,
That nature yet remembers
What was so fugitive." Ode: ((IX)
To all fathers and becoming fathers:
Celebrate the day: show your children you believe in them, nurture your "soft side" and your children will learn that gentle yet strong is not incompatible. And above all, on this day, celebrate with joy and laughter!
A most joyous Father's Day to all.
Untill the next time,
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