Still I Seek Still I Strive...

    Poetry has a strange way of finding us exactly when we need it. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Ulysses came into my life not just as a literary text, but as a mirror reflecting my own restlessness, my quiet hunger for meaning beyond routine. The line “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” didn’t just stay in my memory, it became a compass.

    Balancing life as a teacher, a researcher, and a traveller on academic missions hasn’t been easy. There were days I left home before sunrise to give guest lectures, returned with tired feet, and still sat down to work on my thesis or plan lessons. It wasn’t ambition that kept me going, it was a deep inner restlessness, the kind Ulysses himself feels. The thirst for growth. The hunger to keep moving.

    Ulysses is not simply an aging warrior longing for adventure. He is every soul that refuses to accept routine as destiny. I’ve always felt a quiet connection with that refusal to settle. Whether I’m in a classroom full of young learners or addressing future professionals, a voice within urges me, keep going, keep discovering, keep inspiring.

    Rest, to me, has never meant withdrawal. Like Ulysses, I believe some noble work is always left undone, something that calls us forward, no matter how much we’ve already accomplished.

    In a world that often celebrates comfort, Tennyson reminds us that the real joy lies in the pursuit. And in that pursuit, I’ve found purpose, resilience, and the quiet courage to never yield.

    Like Ulysses, I will continue to seek. I will continue to strive. And I will never, ever yield.


Comments

  1. Dr. S. MasimalarJune 29, 2025 at 5:48 AM

    Yes keeping up our routine itself, an adventure

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Subash.M | Assistant ProfessorJune 30, 2025 at 8:33 AM

      So true! Maam, Some days, just showing up is the bravest thing we do

      Delete
  2. Naren Sakthi writingsJune 29, 2025 at 6:27 AM

    For passionate teachers, destiny is intertwined with routine, drived by a pursuit that never yields...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Subash.M | Assistant ProfessorJune 30, 2025 at 8:34 AM

      For passionate teachers, routine isn’t repetition, it’s devotion in motion, quietly shaping futures day by day

      Delete

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