On the Rocks

There's a place on the ocean that we go to that is stunning, even by coast-of-Maine standards.  I actually already wrote a blog post about it called "Building Cairns" which somehow was erased and I was unable to retrieve it or recreate it.  A shame because I was happy with it, but I suppose it was not meant to be.  I've tried to rewrite it several times over the past month.  Like a love letter that never gets sent because the wording isn't adequate for the emotions, line by line these attempts have been deleted.

Although it is only a short car drive from our house, it is like stepping into another world--the real world.  The world where our mundane issues don't matter at all.  The world as it was created, with nothing man made to interfere in the experience.  I almost wrote "with nothing man made to spoil it" but that didn't feel right.  There are many man made things that are beautiful and improve our quality of life but sometimes we need to strip it all away so that we can connect directly with nature and the energy that runs through it.  It is a place that at once makes you feel vulnerable and empowered.

It is necessary to walk with care.  The rocky terrain varies.  Some of the rocks with their variegated layers look more like petrified wood than stone, with grain-like patterns.  The jagged surfaces of these rocks are difficult to walk on and they can crumble beneath your weight.  Other rocks look like giant dragon eggs, smooth and glimmering silver, the flecks mirroring the shimmering ocean just beyond.  Through all of these are columns and slices of quartz pushing its way up.  In the midst of these heavy rocks and boulders are smaller stones and pebbles.  It is with these that people come and build cairns.

Cairns are towers made by stacking stones and are historically used to mark trails; help people stay on their path.  They can also be made purely for artistic expression.  Or just because. Sometimes I use it as a meditation. As I chose the stones for the base I think of ways that I'm building a foundation in my own life.  I prefer to build mine up high and out of the way.  From a vantage point of seeing the cairns in the chasm below.  My youngest son, who is often jockeying for attention, situates himself in the middle, and tries to build the largest structure he can.  An older one created a row of houses along the wall.  A sort of horizontal cairn, and made me wonder if our impending move was coming out in his creation.  One of the girls searched for signs of life in the little pools of water, while another did what I'm inclined to do--spread out and absorb the heat from the rocks.  No matter what mood any one arrived in it is drastically improved before it is time to leave.

The purpose of cairns is to be relatively permanent so that adventures can make their way without getting lost.  But in this spot the waves can knock down some of these markers.  My path is not yet clear in my mind.  I need to come across the right cairn to lead the way.