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That which is essential to healing…

Sitting on top of the large rock that became my existence I began to notice the soft grass that firmly held it in place below me, and wondered why it had not sunk into obscurity. Could it be that things are not as they seemed?

How could the weakness of the soft rain drenched ground that nurtured the fragile growth of new grass and surrounding vegetation hold up such a solid stone? I then observed the heavens and wondered how a large man made piece of metal could glide through the air and into the soft clouds and not fall to the earth, or how a vessel that weighs tons can float on the gentle rolling waters of the sea. How is it that things that appear so weak can hold up things that appear so powerful and strong? Why was I so willing to remain on the rock that continued to send jolts of pain through me every time I moved or changed positions and not move onto the forgiving relief of the ground?

I used to lie on soft springy grass and walk in gentle meadows under the warmth of the sunlight, breathing in the scent of pure clean air after a gentle rain and not pause for a moment to allow its beauty to tug at my heart. It wasn’t until it seemed lost that I yearned for it. However, why must I think it my fate to remain on the rock? Was it because life placed me there and it was my obligation or plight to remain?

A journey of self-discovery usually begins when you are perched on top of the rock you landed on for whatever reason. Large rocky mountains or over-sized boulders on the desert floor generously cover the earth and as it is with all creation, they serve a purpose. Rocks in life are like trials and pain. It doesn’t matter how we landed there, as much as it is realizing they don’t have to be our permanent position. They are more like teachers and range finders to help us see things differently. Sometimes our life journey lands us on rocks long enough to see the things we so often miss. Standing on top of a large rocky mountain gives us a pretty good view of all of creation.

We might mistake our reliance on God and spirituality as a weakness or an excuse for dealing with the honest brutal truth of trials and hardships, but the truth is, He is the strength that can hold us up no matter where we land. The soft whispers of the spirit, the gentle stream of light that flows into our being is much like the soft springy earth that can hold up a mountain. Things aren’t always as they seem, and strength doesn’t always come from the earthly beliefs that we have come to rely on.

It isn’t the rock that is painful as much as the belief that you can’t move off it. There are times when large rocks can provide a shelter from the storm, but lighthouses on the shore can steer ships from crashing into them with such force that they sink. We all need a lighthouse! The skies aren’t always blue over our lives, and storms come and go, but like the light from a lighthouse that shines out into the dark stormy night, survival can come by following it to safety. If you must cling to a rock for a while until danger passes, you can also slip off it and again feel the soft gentle grass under your feet. You can know that as sure as you progress on your journey, the pain of the rock can just as quickly change your terrain from the dark abyss of pain and suffering to the beautiful meadows of peace again, remember though that just as the sun covers you in the warmth of it glow, rains must come to water the meadows.

Our landscapes may change, and storms with still rage, but flowers still bloom and we still grow. We can survive the winters if we learn to take shelter in each other’s arms and allow the gentle soft embrace of God to cradle us in his care.

Helen Keller wrote: “What we have once enjoyed, we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes part of us.”   Finding our way home through grief and trials usually teach us that those meadows we long for, those warm rays of sun are not lost to us, we usually just learn to see them better.   Antoine de Saint Exuperty who wrote the book The Little Prince wrote: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. That which is essential is invisible to the eye.”

That which is essential is the soft ground that holds the rock, the soft clouds that supports the airplane, and the gentle waters that holds up the ship. That which is essential to healing is God.