(If this is your first time on this site, please begin with "Are You Prepared For Success?" [Introduction])
Solitude
Laugh and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost in the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice, and mankind will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all--
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no one can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow isles of pain.
(Based on a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox)
I strongly suggest that you write down your immediate reaction, after passionately reading this poem.
- In your life, think of the people that you really like. Why do you like them?
- How do you feel when you are around them?
- How do people react to you when you are happy? And when you are sad?