"Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."
It is still incredible to me that over 150 years later, Walt Whitman's message can still continue to touch people's hearts. Personally, this is one of my favorite poems. The need to find purpose and reason in life is still as true today as it was in 1855. Especially being in this stage of life, many of my peers have frequently been asking: What's the point? Is it worth it?
"The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?". Life has never been easy, and I don't think anyone would try to negate that. Especially for young adults; No one can perfectly prepare you for what it's like to be thrown into this world. So when things are difficult, it's super easy to get down on yourself. We still have a lot to learn in this life, and sometimes we wonder, what really is the point?
"Answer". When pressed, people will usually give answers like "to live life to the fullest" or "to spread love and be happy". Usually, some cliché that may or may not be sewn into a throw pillow somewhere. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly okay to find comfort in a mantra or prayer, because it provides an answer. We as human beings, we find comfort in answers, in explanations. There is comfort in being able to explain the unexplainable: who we are, where we came from, what we're doing. Whether we find these answers in religion, science, etc., it makes us feel better.
Humans have always had a fascination with the question "Why?". Our ancient philosophies are rooted in this question, countless works of literature explore this theme- just look at the example above. It's a special kind of peace to know that you're not alone in your thoughts, that others have also walked these footsteps and asked these questions, and will continue to do so. So, it makes sense that I, as an 18 year old college freshman in 2017, can relate to a poet born almost 200 years ago. Man kind has always wanted to know "Why?", always wanted to have a reason, a purpose.
"That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse". Whitman believes that we have an opportunity to "contribute a verse", and I have taken this to heart. In today's world, we increasingly get swept up in the chaos, in the responsibilities of daily life — we go to school to get a job to support a family. It is easy to get lost in the present, and to forget the bigger picture: That you are here — that life exists and identity. I like to think that Whitman basically thought "I don't know for sure what we are on this earth to do, but just the fact that we have the opportunity to do something is enough".
The world has always been full of movers and shakers, thinkers and doers. They've documented their hearts and their thoughts for the rest of us to take part in, and there is a reason that these works and ideas live on: we can all relate to trying to find a purpose in our lives. Whether that is going to school to explore your passions, going to work to support yourself and your family, or even traveling the world to learn and explore. We all have opportunities to discover the answer to "What's the point?". Like Whitman said, despite the "objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,. . . .the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me", the good amongst these is that we have an opportunity to figure it out. That is our purpose. Explore the world, explore your heart. Contribute a verse.
