Thursday, January 15, 2009

Sometimes I feel inspired

Like when I am sitting in class discussing Socrates and Plato and the immortality of the soul. Socrates taught that we aren't just learning while we are on earth, but that, because the soul is immortal, we are remembering the things we already knew prior to birth. Wordsworth also believed this and wrote in "Ode: Intimations of Immortality":

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home[.]

"Trailing clouds of glory..." I am uplifted, inspired, and humbled all at once with these beautiful words of strength and purpose and the knowledge that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father who prepared us for the experiences, both good and bad, that we would face on earth. It gives me hope and courage and feelings of gratitude. It is the rare occasion that I have such an experience in a law class, and I couldn't help but share.

1 comment:

  1. One of my favorite classes was my philosophy class. I loved discussing intriguing ideas, such as the one of remembering things we already knew. Sometimes I wish I was a philosophy major instead of journalism. You've inspired me to track down my Nicomachean Ethics or something similar and read it.

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