Day 3 My Sacred Life...
Fellow My Sacred Life journeyer Milton Brasher-Cuningham here wrote Saturday of author Madeleine L’Engle's thoughts about "being every age you’ve been at the same time, life stacking itself up like altar stones, our experiences singing out in chorus rather than speaking one at a time." It so touched my soul at this moment...
Do you feel every age that you have been? I deeply feel that stacking of my life...layer upon glorious layer...day upon day...year upon year...age upon age...growing...joining...fusing into the blessed woman I am today.
It is amazing how one statement can touch our heart...Milton, and Madeleine through him, reached out and touched my soul so completely...IT MAKES SENSE...so much sense that I feel enriched and wise and blissfully stacked...like the metaphor of the alter stones of my life...one resting upon another...stacked purposefully and lovingly by my creator...not straightly stacked...or even neatly stacked...how ever they are stacked, they form me...just as I am...strong yet, fragile...ME!!!
Perhaps that is why stones and rocks have been so important to me all of my life...I remember picking up my first rock from the shore of the Ohio River when I was five or six...worn smooth and shiny by the dark water...it had many visible layers...and colors running through it...this tiny treasure started my lifelong fascination with rocks...
There is a beach, near Del Mar racetrack in California, that is completely rocks...no sand or shells...just miles of smooth, dark rocks...this is perhaps my favorite beach...my rock beach...every time I visit my son, we have to go to my rock beach...I love to sit on the warm stones and feel their energy radiating into my body...he allows me one bag of rocks...for I would possess them all if able...I pick them carefully and purposefully and seriously...examining each one for it's inner beauty...Chip, my oldest son and Susie, his girlfriend and my dear friend, call me every time they drive past my beach...and I weep, as I do now, for this most glorious and precious spot...where I feel so connected to my soul and to the earth...
My favorite motivational speech is centered around stones...when each audience member enters, they are given a small stone...which can be risky for a speaker because they could be used to throw if I am dull and boring...nonetheless, I connect their stones to my story and get their attention by dropping large rocks into a bucket throughout the speech... At every event I attend, at least one person will walk up to me and show me their stone...and tell me how they keep it with them and remember my words...I am always moved...
If you come to my home...you will see random piles, bowls, baskets of rocks...in every room there is at least one rock...if you open a drawer there is probably a rock in it...yesterday I was out to tea with my friend Patty and I was digging through my purse for something and unearthed a rock...while I was remembering where it came from and looking fondly at how beautiful it was...Patty was thinking that I had dug up some petrified food substance...so I proceeded to show her how beautiful the rock is...she was not too impressed, but we laughed and laughed anyway...
So you can see why this metaphor resonates within me...this stacking of memories...and experiences...and life moments...some pebbles...some boulders...some mountains...some shiny...some worn...some new...some cracked...some wrinkled and lined...some solid and strong...some fragile. All resonate in my smile...and my eyes...and my heart.
Today's aMUSEment - Go out into your world today and find a stone that is beautiful to you and bring it home. Find a special place for it where you will see it often. When you look at it, remember the sacred stacking that is you...U Be Creative Today!
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19 comments:
I love stones. They encapture beauty and resilience as far as I'm concerned. Some are colourful (crystals), some speak of strength and serenity (rocks and pebbles)... all are nuggets of life and energy. I love that image of our lives being like stones stacked one upon the other. That speaks to me.
Love the pretty rocks. We do have many layers don't we? Especially as we age LOL.
This was a wonderful post! Your photo's for the metiphor of life are beatiful!
I too have many stones....I just returned from a lovely birthday weekend with eb in VT and she gave me 2 stones from her wonderful lake...a stripey one and a perfect heart.
Wonderful, and so true!!! I love your altar. Gorgeous!
This is more than about stones, it is about gratitude, and embracing ourselves. Stones help ground us too.
xo
Blue
lovely post rebecca, filled with reflections about the stages of life. i have some rock collections as well, each one with a special memory. the pictures of the stacked stones are just beautiful. you're so right, they ressemble the years that we have past however less stable and solid as your rocks i'm afraid. but we're working on it to stay up right, proud, independant and strong like a rock!
So Nice of you to stop into my Blog. I Really Loved yours...You will have a Wonderful time at the Flea Market in December. Great time of year to head over there. My sister in law makes beautiful wrapped Jewelry made from Gorgeous stones. I am from Florida too? Small world, Born in Naples and moved to Ft. Lauderdale until 1979. Family is in Coral Gables. I have total Empathy for your Back issues. My mother too, suffers from Arthiritis in her spine. Ughh, the joys.. I am looking forward to come back again, jamie
Hi there,
Thanks for stopping by! Nice to meet you. Your blog is lovely.
That chandelier hadn't been dusted in 3 years :), and I did take a nap today!
Karen
i love this!
I like the idea of living every age that we have experienced all at once. I guess those are what memories are...
A friend of mine brought home a collection of stones from one of her favourite beaches in British Columbia. She hired an old jeweler to sand and smooth the stones and then had them made into a bracelet. The old jeweler couldn't understand why she wanted regular ol' rocks instead of jewels but he made it for her anyway. She loves that bracelet. Maybe you could do that with a few of your California rocks?
What a lovely post! I love the image of the stacked stones.
Manuela
I really enjoyed this post. I too love rocks and you would love the beaches here in Oregon for we have quite a few that are rocks.
Oh yes. I bond with stones and rocks.. Like they speak to me.... Funny enough, I will share a story. I was in a deep wash in a dry riverbed and I found this conglomerate boulder. It spoke to me, so full of different stones... Hundreds of them, making this giant boulder. I just had to have it.. I rolled it over 200 feet. Every roll of the boulder was like 100 jumping jacks.. Through the sand.. Oh, it must have weighed over 75lbs. Like a teenage kid... So, I rolled and rolled. Until I got to a little piece of earth that had broken. Determined I would lift it to this earth, and then up the edge of the river bank. 8 feet to climb in total. I was more than determined... I got a handbag out of may car and designed a pulling thingy.. I heaved and hoed, I hurt my muscles, my bones.. But, darn it, I got that thing home.... I felt strong, empowered... I felt like I had bonded with that boulder.... xxxoooo
This post (as many of your posts do) resonated with me. I didn't just seek shells and sea glass this past week, I had to find stones too.(I searched hard for heart shapes) I carry two stones in a pouch in my handbag...sent to me from Cornwall England by a friend. One has been worn as though by a finger..rubbing for centuries..no doubt a Mermaid. I keep it there should I feel anxious or worried or just need to feel calm....I can take it out and place my finger in that groove and feel the power.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
I'll have to post a picture of the place I get these rocks from (Phoenicia,NY) Rocks and rocks and more rocks. My favorite thing to do is lie on a large stone and let my feet dip into the water. I too have piles all over my place. I just found a perfect one today to send to a friend for a shamanic workshop. Mother Earth has wonderful gifts for us.
Your fellow creative mural-painting rock collector, Doreen
beautiful post and sharing.
The stacked stones are so symbolic and well expressed by your words.
"blissfully stacked"... How lovely!! I loved this post. Blessings.. POlly
Gorgeous stones and photos - I too, collect them. So sad about Madeleine L'Engle. She was such an inspiring woman. xo
i followed today's blog link to here ... and read this ... and i love rocks and stones too ..... i have bowls of important rocks here and there!!!
What a beautiful post. I was so inspired that I pulled out a rock I picked up in Santa Fe, then I pulled out a rock that one of my pre-k students gave to me (he painted it), then I pulled out a rock one of my children had given me (years ago). Thank you for such an inspirational post.
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