FAR FROM THE MADDING EARTH

I'm currently reading FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD by Thomas Hardy and wanted to share an epiphany that came to me when I reached page 8.

Far From The Madding Crowd

by

Thomas Hardy

Page 8,

It was a recollection I had going back on "the time track" when I was 16 years old.

Me and a group of friends (students) were staying at a great big Manor House in Hampshire: it was midnight, we were all bored because we weren't used to being in the country miles from anywhere, and we were chilling out by the large pond at the back of the Manor.

About 1;00 am in the morning the rest of the group started making their way back to the dorms, whereas I stayed behind standing in front of the pond. The others' got a bit concerned and didn't want to leave me on my own; but, I assured them I was okay and that I'd follow them shortly. I needed some space: MEST (Matter, Energy, Space and Time)!

I watched them all walk back to the Manor House that was all lit up like a great big Christmas tree, then turned my back to it, to face the pond that was a black oblivion. I swear, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I also knew I was being spied upon by curious wildlife.

I turned back, a minute or two later, once more, to look at the Manor House and realised I was on my own with only the nocturnal wildlife, the moon, and the stars to keep me company.

There's a line on page 8. that summed up that moment and mood so perfectly when Hardy describes what it's like to stand on a hill at midnight to look up at the stars, before coming back down to earth to a tiny human frame.

"After such a nocturnal reconnoitre it is hard to get back to earth, and believe that the consciousness of such a majestic speeding is derived from a tiny human frame."

I stood in that perfect place, in that perfect silence, in that perfect darkness, in a perfect void, staring up at the stars, asking what was my purpose in life: I felt I needed to be somewhere else in that moment in time, but didn't know where. It was a very spiritual moment for me.

Staring up at the constellation of stars, that shone and palpitated so brightly in the night's sky was pure magic; and like the line above that Hardy wrote, I too, felt I left my body enjoying the universe's magical magnificence. I don't know how long I was standing there, just gazing up at the night's sky, and absorbing its beauty; but when I returned from a "consciousness of such a majestic speeding" it was hard to believe that it derived from such "a tiny human frame".

Anyhow, when I got back to the Manor, I never saw a soul until I entered my dorm, where all the girls were sitting up waiting and worrying about me, asking if I was okay and that a search party was out looking for me. I was so shocked, and said you knew where I was; next thing my lecturer burst into the room asking if I was okay, and that everyone thought I was upset about something- which I wasn't.

I'm so glad I shared this! This is why I'm a voracious reader!

Classical literature, and especially poetry, has a substantial influence on my work.

A luminous full moon rises against a vibrant twilight sky, silhouetting the delicate branches of nearby trees.