Well, actually that wasn’t Grandfather… I think it was Bob Dylan who said that…
But the point that I was trying to make here is that stones are people too… well, not actually “people” in the sense of the word that we are accustom to thinking about as people, but they are the original people of this planet who play vital role in the greater plan…
They are teachers and story tellers, and they are the record keepers who hold stories of old, dating back to the beginning of time itself.
Perhaps that is why I have always been drawn to them… Even as a kid I was always going on my own rock hunting excursions… seeking the sparkly or unique stones and smuggling them home with me in my pants pockets… to be found later in the bottom of the washing machine, or heard tumbling with loud thuds as they freed themselves from the pockets of my jeans in the dryer…
Not much has changed over the years, and I still find myself connected to rocks of all kinds… In all their various shapes and forms… If I am not clambering around on them at some state park, I am holding one in my hand, or eating my lunch perched on top of one in the sunshine… I actually form a friendship with them, and some will come home to share a bit of their wisdom with me. Not all rocks mind you, just a certain few that for some special reason have shown up along my path, and have somehow indicated to me that they were meant to be found by me… They will be carried home and provided a new resting space, until the lessons that they carry are learned, and they move on to their next pupil.
Here is a recent example… On my walk back from lunch yesterday, I stopped to throw away my trash and missed the receptacle with one of the items… it was nearly impossible to have missed, as I was very close, and the bin was an open topped model… Just make the basket and move on… Well, I missed just the same, and as I stooped down, and looked behind the trash can to retrieve my errand yogurt cup low and behold it was leaning up against a most unusual rock … there were only two rocks in the area. One that was visible, and the other, this unusual one, lay hidden behind the trash can. I would never have even known it was there unless I had missed the shot that led to this unique encounter… I picked the rock up to look at it, and it just fit into my hand. It is hard to explain what the connection feels like, but it is as if I had held the rock before, or it was designed to fit my hand perfectly. This and the fact that it was found under such unusual circumstances warranted more investigation, and a free ride to the rocks next destination along its path…
As I am typing this, I am looking at four small stones that sit on my desk next to my computer monitor. They too were found in a similarly unique manner as above. However these are currently here at work with me, rather than being taken elsewhere.
They are arranged and stacked on my desk, and help bring a sense of calm to my day. They help keep me grounded and I feel as if they are speaking to me at times…each has its own story to tell…
Three of the stones have been stacked and I have added a small red berry from a member of the plant people, which was gifted to me during the same trip that connected me with these stones. Together they create a small statue that acts to tell a combined tale of their own. As I look at the configuration, to me they resemble my vision of Mother earth in a robe of stone holding the great red nation to her breast, wrapping them in her cloak of stone protecting them from the harsh elements that encircle them.
I had not thought of this before… I am not sure if she is emerging or retreating… Is it a new nation emerging, or a vulnerable nation about to retreat to the protection of the inner earth once more…?
Grandfather says….
Hmmm