On Whitman's Leaves of Grass (2)

Yuen M. Ho
English 48B
January 12, 2006
Journal #2 Walt Whitman

I. Quote

“But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.

There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now;
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.”

II. Summary

Whitman emphasized on “now” in this stanza; it refers to the present moment. He asked us to grasp the presence, for it is the “inception”. This reflects his attitude of letting go of the past. History, no matter how exciting or depressing, is gone and cannot be undone. There is not any way we can chase back the lost years. That’s why he said “there was never… any more youth or age than there is now.” Besides, even though the future is in our hands, anticipating too much about it is not too meaningful or helpful. Doing one’s best at the present, for we never know what will come next.

III. Response

Embracing life as what it is now is always the toughest lesson in life. While we always feel inspired or enlightened when authors, movie makers, religious leaders or even some ordinary people remind us of the importance of today in contrary to yesterday or tomorrow, we tend to forget about it when we get indulged in work, study and this materialistic world.

We reminisce the past. We anticipate the future. Yet, what about the present moment? Are we trying our best to make it memorable, so that it will become a piece of precious puzzle of the past as well as a motivating factor for the future?

The best is the present moment – for it is in our firm grasp. Once passed, it will add value to our history and build blocks for tomorrow.