Stop and Stare

When I was over at my grandparents’ house the other week there, I was sitting chatting to my grandma, when a flash of green caught my eye. The sunlight, having temporarily banished the rain clouds, was now glinting off something in the cabinet. The cabinet in question is at floor level, and contains glassware never used, but which remains a part of the household, none the less. In fact, I’m sure grandmas the world over have a similar cabinet containing similar items. Anyway, I have been visiting this house ever since I was born, and I’ve even lived there for months at a time; until last week, however, I had never noticed the green glass. Maybe it was the angle I was sitting at, or perhaps the height of the early Spring sun, that caused my attention to focus. Whatever the reason, the result was the same: I saw the green glass, and I took some time to appreciate its shape and hue.

Leisure
by William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stop and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

Not time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

What have you taken the time to notice recently? What caused you to stop and stare? Do you find that, ‘full of care’, you don’t take the time and opportunity to notice and engage with the beauty that surrounds you?