A Psalm of Life

This famous Longfellow poem hones in on the topic of life and living. This poem is very relatable because life is a commonality found in all human beings. This is a very feel-good, positive, encouraging, and invigorating piece of work, and because of that, I can identify with its values and core message. Life is an amazing gift with many untapped potentials. Wasting it and watching it quickly pass by would be a sin. We cannot just sit around and wait for death to take us away. Life also should not be centered around our self-indulgence or personal sadness. Every second we are closer to death; this should give us a sense of urgency to make something meaningful out of our lives. We need to make our own destiny rather than allowing ourselves to be led around like sheep and cattle. Our focus should be solely on the present. We need focus on our next move. Worrying about the future and dwelling on the past does us more harm than good. In order to achieve in this life, we need to be patient and hardworking. As a Christian, I can easily follow along as the structure of this poem mimics some sort of extra chapter in the Book of Psalms. It is very easy to feel inspired and motivated by this Longfellow poem. As young kids we were always told by adults to "follow your dreams" and "never give up"; this Longfellow poem reiterates those points.