The Stick and The Rock

I took a morning walk today and as I took a seat by the opening river, I glanced down and my gaze fixated on a beautifully smooth rock, deeply embedded within the river.

Straddled across this divinely beautiful rock was a stick, nicely nestled and held in place at one end by the other rocks, and as the stick rested there, changing the rivers current flow, therefore altering the rock’s gradient texture, it got me thinking, am I not too, another rock, resting on this earth?  Are we not all rocks, deeply embedded within the earth and rising upwards?

And the stick?  I see it as a metaphor; for the people who come forth into our lives, these people that we let in, open our hearts too and allow them the space for them to open their hearts to us, change us too.  Just like the Rock.

This stick and this rock seemed very content and whilst the river supported this pairing, they would stay close to one another.

Is this too not another reflection of life?  That when the currents flow, and sometimes even not, we can support and allow the pairing of ourselves with others.

Needless to say, when telling our story, we become the rock and for others; we are their resting sticks.  But what is true here is that as we journey through life, it is to be expected that various sticks will have found a resting place upon our rock, and, our sticks upon their rocks.

With clear sightedness we can learn to appreciate that these sticks made us the person we are and for our loved ones; their sticks made them the rock they are today.  It is a recognition that the stick and the rock may only come together when the river allows and supports it.

Perhaps we can learn to navigate the river and know when we need to lessen or strengthen our hold, knowing that it is up to the river feeling and responding to our cues that determines how long the stick and the rock can come together.

I am still learning to give thanks to the sticks that sat on my lovers rock, yet, without him having the experiences of those sticks, he would not be the beautifully strong and proud rock that he is for me today.

I too hope that I am as strong as rock as he needs.