Rock'n'Water

The large rock was resting at the base of a hill, perhaps heaved from higher up by a force that was doing its job as a “landscape with nature” professional. I had seen this boulder on earlier trips down the other side of the trail; however, I had never had the view as I now had, coming up from below. It was a new perspective on an old subject. It did not occur to me as such at the time. The sun had barely lifted above the ridge that stood before me. I was lost in the laziness of the cool morning shade paying just enough attention to my other surroundings to keep an eye out for crawling things. After taking several pictures, I looked up and discovered the old well pump house to my right. It struck me odd as to where I was. It was an awakening, not just because I was unaware of my location on this short hike, but a fresh angle had given me new insight and resurrected something I had been neglecting to see was missing. It reminded me of how I may need to take a fresh look and different angle at some other areas of my life, in particular my spiritual path and rule of life. What had been working had become somewhat routine, and motivation was needed to steer me toward a fresh approach.

Another person’s request will often lead to answers of our own unasked questions. I had taken this walk as part of doing my job, but also for utilizing the time to sort out some things in my mind about what a friend had asked me to do. We’ll call it a lesson on spiritual guidance. Not direction. Not advice. Guidance. As the walk progressed and thoughts emerged there were images and ideas not readily conducive to this person and I began to wonder if I had actually made a mistake by taking on the responsibility of it all. Things were not panning out and if there was any indication of what might be aptly applied to her, it was evaporating my ideas as fast as the sun was doing the same to the mist in the hollow.

My next step was another trail that begged for attention; this one up a slight grade alongside a small creek bed. Although it was late summer, water was still streaming down, fed from springs up at the top of the northerly facing ridge. The trail traversed the stream occasionally and made for some tricky footing here and there; sometimes through mud, sometimes taking your chances on wet rocks that jutted up from the bed. From time to time the water’s rushing seemed to turn to hushing as it silenced all but the nearest woodpecker high in the naked hemlock that towered above me. It was calming and serene and I managed to take a few pictures of miniature waterfalls tumbling over small branches and stones. An attempt at time lapse photography proved worthy of some self proclaimed good shots of the scenery. My own thoughts were being fed from this contemplative arena, but there was still not much evolving in the direction of my friend’s needs.

The evening was spent viewing the pictures and labeling them on my social network for friends and family to see. I chose one picture of the rock to use as the album cover and chose several of the stream photos to accompany the rocks in the album. Later when I had settled in for the evening I had a chance to convey to the person requesting my help, some of my thoughts and the nature of the observations I was making. The attention turned to the pictures of the stones and water. I was commenting on how the rock resembled my hard-headedness and at times stubborn demeanor. She was commenting how the water pictures were displaying a softness that she needed in her life. In that moment I realized how both of these features, the hardness of the rock and the softness of the water, represented extremes. It was the balance of the two that I was in need of. I had begun to retreat back to an old habit of “all or nothing” when “moderation” had been the watch-word and key to my solitude. And this was the perfect reminder. Perhaps studying the Rule of Benedict from being an oblate of a monastic community, along with my prayer life and vocational direction, were actually paying off for me to recognize this as guidance for my own spirituality. Perhaps it was providential that a friend had asked me for help that would ultimately unlock the answers to unasked questions for me. Maybe it was an exercise in spiritual discernment to prepare me for future assignments such as this friend’s request. But mostly, it appears to me to be the result of heeding the first word of the Rule of Benedict … “Listen … “ All the asking in the world would not have helped if I had not listened to the words, sounds, and inner voice that described the pictures and scenes to me. And for my friend’s request? This was surely an exercise in preparing me to help in much greater ways than thought possible before, not just for her, but for who knows how many in the future! Thank you, God, for the ability to listen.