back when I thought I knew stuff.
May 21st 2007
Just as a pebble is polished by years and years of tumbling along the riverbeds and up and down beaches, so must we allow ourselves to be shaped by the elements throwing us around.
First the boulder falls from the highest peak of a mountain, then crumbles as it falls. More often than not it is carried down to a stream by another avalanche and a series of rain falls. Once it has reached a stream, it must roll along the bottom, to be left at dams, or left at points that join a larger river, or even left on the bottom the ocean. Years can pass at different phases – the whole span of transformation takes hundreds of years. The stone must allow itself to be tumbled about and finally thrown up and down sandy beaches by the volition of the tides.
So it is with the effect of life on our human souls. Every fall brings us to a new bump that we can smooth out if we so choose.
The individual does have free will: to decide whether or not she wants to follow the stream or fight against it. Whether or not he chooses to be tossed around until he is smooth of bumps and imperfections. We can decide to stay on the mountain continually abused by falling debris, or we can decide to keep our bumps and scratches even though nature will constantly hustle and bustle us. We cannot change the course of nature, but we do get to choose to let these events shape and mold us into soft, beautiful pebbles, finally collected by a sweet mother and her five-year-old staying at the cottage for the summer.
In life, we must expect to be thrown up against each other, dropped and carried at random by passers by. Every piece of the journey holds obstacles, yet to reach the most desired state, we must be patient with our little pebble-souls. Not all of our bumps can be worn down after merely one avalanche, risen tide, or waterfall. Only with patience and the passing of time does a pebble begin to achieve a somewhat smooth surface.
