Survival Skill

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“The World Is Too Much With Us” is a sonnet by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In it, Wordsworth criticises the world of the First Industrial Revolution for being absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from nature.

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But we can feel that the world is too much with us at any time. It can be overwhelming, swamping us with feelings of sadness, frustration, even anger at what is going on around us, feeling helpless to really do anything about it.

Imagination can be a survival skill when we feel this way. You can create a whole world inside your head, draw something, or write something taking you away mentally and emotionally from what is distressing and bringing you a feeling of calm. In this imaginary world, you are in control. You can have anything happen. You can color your world any color. Only good things can happen there. Ahhhhh!

Things that can inspire you to imagine are

• a song you hear
• a picture you see
• an article you read
• a cute or funny or touching video
• a memory

When the world is too much with you, change the way you look at things by indulging yourself for at least a few minutes, bringing your emotions down to Earth, your breathing back to normal, loosen your tense muscles.

Imagination can take you anywhere. Don’t forget you have this weapon against reality.