Every day there are many fleeting moments of beauty that can catch us by surprise and transform our day, but only if we watch for them, says HopeHealth Chaplain Denis Lynch.
It’s why Denis loves William Stafford’s poem “You Reading This, Be Ready” It’s about being open to moments of beauty in unexpected places. Like the simple wonder of sunlight creating a pattern on a hardwood floor. In order to allow ourselves to notice it, we need to slow down, Denis says.
“In a fast-paced world where images and sounds flash before us and we rush around trying in vain to get to the bottom of an endless to-do list, how are we going to be touched by beauty unless we slow down?” Denis says.
“Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?”
— William Stafford (1914-1993)
“You Reading This, Be Ready” from “Ask me: 100 Essential Poems of William Stafford”
For Spiritual Care Week, Oct. 24-30, 2021, Denis shares Stafford’s poem as a reminder that beautiful moments are all around us.
“Be ready to turn around and be surprised by them,” he says. “Don’t wait for the perfect conditions. Today it could be the sound of rain on the roof of your car, or the patterns it makes on your windshield.”
Above: Revealing moments can happen in unexpected places, even parking lots! HopeHealth Chaplain Denis Lynch pauses for a photo while leaving our Middletown office.