thoughts for today
Today i came across a few posts that struck me deeply - a four minute video by the Cleveland Clinic "If We Could See Inside Other People's Hearts," an article about the link between architecture and healing - "Support Structures: architecture's role in the healing process," one about Ivan Ng, a Singaporean who picked up the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer, and my friend's post of his father's deteriorating condition in hospital. These disparate strands lingered in my thoughts and they soon slowly weaved themselves into something more, triggering some memories i have.
i remember, while working as a Chaplain in the hospital, a woman who would drop by every other day during lunch time to play the harp in the lobby. As people - patients, healthcare professionals, visitors - walk by, many of them would stop and listen for a while. That music from her harp, made us pause. i don't know what was on the minds of the other people there. Some, just grateful for the brief respite from whatever that is going on in their lives, others, found some solace and catharsis and release from the emotions that were bottled within. i, too, stopped whenever i happened to walk by the lobby and heard the echoes of the melodies down the hall. There were times they were like a refreshing spring, which i was in great need of - especially after particularly draining moments spent with patients who are struggling with their difficult situations.
There were a few times she wheeled her harp into the ward i served in, and her music wafted through the ward, as soothing as a mother's lullaby. Somehow, it made a difference.
i wonder how many of us find scattered springs of refreshment in our lives, and how dry our lives are without them. i wonder how many of us find ways to make that difference.
i remember, while working as a Chaplain in the hospital, a woman who would drop by every other day during lunch time to play the harp in the lobby. As people - patients, healthcare professionals, visitors - walk by, many of them would stop and listen for a while. That music from her harp, made us pause. i don't know what was on the minds of the other people there. Some, just grateful for the brief respite from whatever that is going on in their lives, others, found some solace and catharsis and release from the emotions that were bottled within. i, too, stopped whenever i happened to walk by the lobby and heard the echoes of the melodies down the hall. There were times they were like a refreshing spring, which i was in great need of - especially after particularly draining moments spent with patients who are struggling with their difficult situations.
There were a few times she wheeled her harp into the ward i served in, and her music wafted through the ward, as soothing as a mother's lullaby. Somehow, it made a difference.
i wonder how many of us find scattered springs of refreshment in our lives, and how dry our lives are without them. i wonder how many of us find ways to make that difference.