Stones
"May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!"
~Irish Blessing
Cheju, an island off of South Korea, is known for many things but especially it's volcanic rock. The beaches are nestled in this dark lava rock. Everywhere there are statues carved from lava rock. Vic and I went to Cheju twice when we lived in South Korea. On our first trip, our guide took us hiking through these rock gardens to find a certain beach and rock formation that was on the ocean's edge. Throughout our hike we passed stacks of lava rocks that seemed to be meticulously set on top of each other. There would be a larger rock, followed by medium rocks resting on top of it, followed by smaller rocks piled as high as a person could reach. The tradition on Cheju is to place a rock on one of these towers and to make a wish. If the rock stays, your wish will come true. We made a sport of trying to balance rocks on so many towers that we almost ran out of wishes. Throughout the island, these rock stacks stood as testimony to all of the people who had come before us. Each rock represented a wish of a traveler on the path we were taking.
Our daughter's third grade project brought her home yesterday with green clay. Instinctively she separated it and rolled it into perfect little balls and then left it on my kitchen counter. This morning as I waited for my coffee to brew, those four round clay "stones" brought me back to Cheju. Slowly and carefully, I began my stack; the larger stone on the bottom for stability with a wish to always be rooted in the main things of life. Love, Happiness, Family. The next smaller stone on top (with an advantage because the clay wants to stick together - an advantage I needed this morning) with a wish for growth, personal growth for me, growth of my marriage and guidance to help the kids grow into the adults they are meant to be. The third smaller stone for balance, that our lives would always be balanced and not too far to any side but an even amount of all things that the world has to offer. That final stone, the one on the top was a wish to always reach for the stars, to always take a chance, to never become complacent in today and to help our children to remember that the promise of tomorrow is one of the greatest blessings that our country brings.
I start today with my wishes stacked, having returned ever so briefly to a place far away and traveled home again all in the matter of the time it takes to brew my morning cup of coffee. Life is good.
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!"
~Irish Blessing
Cheju, an island off of South Korea, is known for many things but especially it's volcanic rock. The beaches are nestled in this dark lava rock. Everywhere there are statues carved from lava rock. Vic and I went to Cheju twice when we lived in South Korea. On our first trip, our guide took us hiking through these rock gardens to find a certain beach and rock formation that was on the ocean's edge. Throughout our hike we passed stacks of lava rocks that seemed to be meticulously set on top of each other. There would be a larger rock, followed by medium rocks resting on top of it, followed by smaller rocks piled as high as a person could reach. The tradition on Cheju is to place a rock on one of these towers and to make a wish. If the rock stays, your wish will come true. We made a sport of trying to balance rocks on so many towers that we almost ran out of wishes. Throughout the island, these rock stacks stood as testimony to all of the people who had come before us. Each rock represented a wish of a traveler on the path we were taking.
Our daughter's third grade project brought her home yesterday with green clay. Instinctively she separated it and rolled it into perfect little balls and then left it on my kitchen counter. This morning as I waited for my coffee to brew, those four round clay "stones" brought me back to Cheju. Slowly and carefully, I began my stack; the larger stone on the bottom for stability with a wish to always be rooted in the main things of life. Love, Happiness, Family. The next smaller stone on top (with an advantage because the clay wants to stick together - an advantage I needed this morning) with a wish for growth, personal growth for me, growth of my marriage and guidance to help the kids grow into the adults they are meant to be. The third smaller stone for balance, that our lives would always be balanced and not too far to any side but an even amount of all things that the world has to offer. That final stone, the one on the top was a wish to always reach for the stars, to always take a chance, to never become complacent in today and to help our children to remember that the promise of tomorrow is one of the greatest blessings that our country brings.
I start today with my wishes stacked, having returned ever so briefly to a place far away and traveled home again all in the matter of the time it takes to brew my morning cup of coffee. Life is good.
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