Getting Grounded

My husband knew what he was getting into when he married me. Six years of dating and cohabitation before marriage would have clued him into the fact that his beloved wife is a little eccentric. So when I came back from my afternoon walk yesterday with the pockets of my shorts and cardigan weighed down with small rocks and carrying two rocks in my arms that weighed as much as a toddler, he didn't so much as bat an eye-lid. He watched me assemble these rocks in an Aztec blue and silver patterned bowl and complimented the arrangement. I feel that rocks are under-rated, maybe because they just blend in with the landscape. This past year or so I have been walking down this rocky track at my local park, not knowing why the thought or the sight of it made me feel grounded. During my teenage years, being 'grounded' was detrimental to my social life. Now I love that word because I have a new meaning for it. Even though I have come a long way in the past two years in terms of listening to the wisdom of that quiet voice in my soul, there are still moments when I feel like a kite without a string. A kite without a string can fly, but unless it has a string to bring it back to earth; it will fly aimlessly or land at random. I think that the reason why I sometimes feel this way is because sometimes I worry about things that don't really matter in the great scheme of things. I love being out in nature and an idea tugged at me as I was strolling barefoot through the soft and greenest patches of grass at the park, to bring nature into my home. So I went about this task with all the enthusiasm of a pirate in search of treasure and I learnt a few things while finding rocks. 1) You cannot choose just any rocks. You need to look for rocks with colors, textures and patterns that hold meaning for you. 2) There are rocks that are not meant for you. The rocks that are still firmly lodged within the earth are not for you at this time, or are simply not meant to be. Trying to remove them by force can hurt you. 3) Rocks are like people. Beautiful, strong and resilient. Over time, rocks can be worn down, rough edges smoothed out with time spent under water. Big rocks can broken into smaller pieces but they are still beautiful, strong and resilient. They still exist. And that is something that struck me as profound. 4) You can build a house with rocks to shelter those you love from the elements. You can build your life on a strong foundation called a bedrock, a slab of stone that is strong enough to hold up the walls, the pillars and the roof. Even if a hurricane came and ripped up the the walls, pillars and roof with everything we hold precious inside - the bedrock will remain and it can be built upon again. It will take time to rebuild, but the good thing is that you can design a completely new home. And then you can put new possessions inside. The flip side to starting from scratch is that you can be the architect of your life. It is your art that goes up on the walls and then there is your soul, your spirit at the center of every thing. So if you're feeling un-anchored, I recommend you go to a special place that holds meaning for you. If it has something you can collect, like shells, rocks, sticks or acorns - commit yourself to the task of gathering up what draws your eye and makes you think of yourself, a family member or some one you love. Or it represents something meaningful to you. Yesterday I picked up a rock that reminded me of Yin and Yang, one side was light and the other side was dark. For me its a reminder that everyone has light and darkness inside of them and its the same with situations that we think are negative but there are positives that balance the negatives. There is a favorite Harry Potter quote that ties in with Yin and Yang. "We all have both darkness and light inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on, that's who we really are." - Sirius Black: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban I hope those of you who can resonate with this want to get grounded now. ;) - Sarah x