The Wisdom of Stone

I mentioned that on the night of the great storm I found
safe passage on a formation of stone—one of many times
that stone has supported, taught, or saved me.

Taught? you might wonder. Stone teaches?

Yes.

Every stone we observe has been on the earth for ages.
Should we be surprised if they possess wisdom
that we do not?

In the months and years I was separated from my people,
wisdom was at my feet all the while.

The stones that met my every step—
those silent patriarchs from years past—
they made wisdom my foundation.
Or at least offered to do so.

To become wise, I had to learn to hear their silence.

The Foundation of Peace

Initially, I heard stone only when I turned to it
for help—as when I needed to cross a stream
or when I desired to shape a tool.

But even when I have ignored it, stone has always
offered itself to me and supported my every step.

What has stone offered?

In a word:

Peace.

Why peace?

Because amid turmoil, such as during the great storm,
stone has offered me safe passage.

When the earth has seemed to be shifting around me,
stone has been my sure foundation.

When my own meager abilities have left me
desperate and wanting, stone has offered its hand,
allowing me to fashion weapons, utensils,
and tools that have given me the means to live.

I speak of stone’s gift to the body, yes.
But only to teach you of stone’s gift to the soul.

For just as the outer light points to an inner,

just as the wind carries the thoughts of my heart,

just as water cleanses my soul as well as my skin,

so the stone underfoot points to something within.

My young friend, consider your life and
you will find evidence for what I am saying.

You can probably remember times when you have felt
unsteady even when the ground beneath you was solid.
And other times when perhaps you have felt
sure-footed and at peace no matter the terrain.

The stone that has supported my feet has taught me
of a greater stone—a stone that has weathered every calamity
and that can therefore support me in mine.

In my walking, I have discovered a stone
that supports the heart.

Every forward step of my walking has been
a step on the path of that stone.

To Be as a Stone

You will find this sure stone as you become
as the stones that help you in your journey.

Don’t make the mistake that I made in my early walking—
to look down on the stones. They are noble.

Early in my running, I ignored them. Now I revere them.
Occasionally I would curse them. Now I praise them.

To be as a stone . . . that is a worthy goal indeed.

I say this in all seriousness.

Don’t be offended by the stone that turns beneath
your feet. After all, the stone isn’t offended by you,
even though you were the one who turned it.

Do you appreciate the willingness of the stones to support
you even when you try your best to hurt them?

Do you notice their willingness to help you even
after you have failed to notice them?

Are you awed that they offer the same help to
all who walk by, over, and on them?

Are you touched by their humility and patience?

Are you instructed by the way they warm to the light?

To be as a stone.

Yes. That has become the desire of my heart.

Forward and Backward
Use of Stone

Don’t misunderstand.

The world thinks of stone as something cold,
something hard, something unforgiving.

That is what stone seems like in the dark—when we are cold,
hard, and unforgiving. And when we witness the damage
that can be done with stone when it is wielded by those
whose hearts are cold, hard, and unforgiving.

But stone is very different in the light.

Those who walk forward use stone as well, but they use it
to help, not to injure—to create, not to destroy.

Our understanding, regard, and use for stone
depends on our walking:

Walk forward in the light, and stone will be
the means of delivering peace.

Walk backward in the darkness, and it will
be the means of making war.

When I saw this in stone, I saw my reflection in the rocks.

For I sometimes bring peace and sometimes make war.

Stone is what I make of it.

Stone is but an extension of me.

Stone’s Question

As I have read on stone walls the stories
of those who have gone before,

as I have added my own stories for those
who would come after,

as I have used stone to reshape Mother Earth . . .

I have come to hear from stone a question.

Yes, a question.

Don’t be misled by the silence.
It is merely stone’s patient wait for your answer.

Here is stone’s question:

What impressions and depressions will you leave
on the people around you?

Like the sharpest stones, our words, our actions,
our attitudes—all wield influence.

They engrave stories in the hearts of others.

We engrave those stories with our own hearts.
For whatever we do on the outside,
people know how we feel about them in our hearts.

So stone asks this question:

Do we invite peace or provoke war?

Do we walk backward, scarring the landscape
with jagged hearts, or do we walk forward on
the stone path that is the foundation of peace—
inviting others, by our peaceful walk, to join us?