be not like dumb, driven cattle

The Psalm of life

.........Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our heats, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!.........

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Longfellow's A Psalm of Life encourages you and me to take a thoughtful look at the brief span of time given to us, which is our life, and to adopt an enthusiastic and grateful attitude for all that we are and all that we experience.

In this poem, Longfellow tells us that the soul is our true essence and things are not what they seem. Our bodies and material surroundings are a myth and a way of thinking that lead us to a dull and unfulfilled life.

I love his choice of words to get us out of the doldrums of a life in which we often act like dumb, driven cattle, doing whatever our herd mentality directs us to do. Rather, he says, be a hero, which I interpret to mean, be enthusiastic until it positively thrills you. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for life and radiate it outward in everything you do until it infects all those around you. This is heroism. You don't have to run into a burning building to save a child to be a hero, you just have to be in touch with that God within.

-Wayne Dyer