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02 February 2013

LEISURE

My favourite poem, pinned to the notice board near the computer, is a reminder not to overdo things, or should be if I looked at it more often!

Leisure


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.

(William Henry Davies 1871-1940)

14 comments:

  1. I empathise with you, Val! I feel rather exhausted after my 7 week holiday he he! Have tried to keep busy and have up my leisure activities. Back to school Monday for me as it is about time for a reality check.

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  2. i agree completely with the poem...what good are many things if we never have time to use them...

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  3. A very good message in that poem.

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  4. Read it more often? Move it so it's changed locations and it's more noticeable?

    GO PLAY! LOL

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  5. Valerie, I LOVE this poem!!!!

    Reminding us to take time to pause....and smell and enjoy the roses.

    Like the Italian's say...."the art of doing nothing."

    Have a lovely Saturday, dear lady!

    X

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  6. Enjoy your return to school, Paul. You'll be glad of a rest after your seven weeks of activity.

    I agree, Pearl, it is lovely.

    True, Brian. We should make time, but to few of us do.

    It is an art, Ron, and I'm developing it more as I get older. Idle daydreaming is becoming a speciality.

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  7. Some very good advice. I need to remind myself to stop and smell the roses on a regular basis.

    Happy Weekend!

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  8. I really like this, Val! Isn't it so true?? Sometimes we just need to stop and stare, or stop and smell the flowers.

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  9. I love that poem, and I always have, though I can seldom quote much of it.

    I think it's actually the reason that all my life I have made time to stand and stare, and may well be the reason that I look for beauty in small things. And that has made me a happier person.

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  10. Oh, by the way, having just read your comment on captchas - I'm totally with you on that. There are blogs I give up on, too. And sadly, a blog which I'd like to comment more on but now can only manage two or three posts (she posts sometimes ten or fifteen short pieces at a time) before giving up purely because I have to take my glasses off and bring the screen to my nose to be able to read those stupid little numbers.

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  11. Very fitting poem for this weekend...

    I decided to stop being a slug and get out and about... well worth it !

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  12. Hi Jay. Stopping and gazing was something I learned in later life but mostly when I'm away from the house. I agree with you entirely about the captchas, much as I like some blogs I can't afford to ruin the eyesight by struggling to decipher them.

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  13. Geraldine, I can't wait for spring to arrive so I can get out and see what wonderful are growing in the garden.

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