"Our Meddling Intellect"

"Come forth, and bring with you a heart / That watches and receives."

More so than literally saying we should observe things with our hearts, the speaker encourages us to temporarily turn off the analytical portions of our brains that have been trained in school and by the books (mentioned earlier in the poem) to question and consider everything we come in contact with. Instead, we should allow other parts of the brain, artistic and sensory portions, more freedom in observing everything around us.

But what can we actually receive without relying on the part of our brain that controls our conscious thought? Specifically according to the poem: the sunset and its expression of colors across the grass, bird songs and the knowledge they carry, and the wisdom of the plants and flowers. In a more realistic sense, there is much more to be received, in some cases, by just taking a moment to simply enjoy the beauty of not just nature, but the pure and simple things in life. We have been so inclined, probably more so in our current time than when this poem was written in 1798, to feel the need to fully understand everything, to "murder to dissect". It is almost as if we have forgotten that it is possible to just enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains or a sunset, because "Our meddling intellect / Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things".

But as college students, how often are we encouraged to use our heart instead of our brain? No matter what our academic path, we are constantly bombarded with the importance of scientific research and approaches, that it becomes almost impossible to think of anything else. Maybe Wordsworth's poem can remind us that the next time we see a flower, instead of jumping to photosynthesis and pollination, our minds will simply let us perceive its natural beauty.