Some rocks will appear solid. Nice weight. No visible cracks. Strong. It will seem like the stone is destined for great things. Perhaps I have a vision of it becoming a beautiful pendant to be adorned by a hippie goddess dancing naked in the forest. Maybe I cut into it and all seems well. Then using the trim saw I cut out the basic shape. Beautiful. I’m excited for this piece to be smoothed and polished. But once I put the stone to the machine, it can’t take the pressure. It cracks. I may think, no matter, I can work with this. But it cracks some more. It begins to crumble. The rock couldn’t take the pressure.
Sometimes I feel people are like this. They appear strong, tough, and sturdy. But the world wants to make them into something more. Something different. Something they’re not. Perhaps they can withstand a bit of coaxing and molding, but eventually they snap. They can’t take the pressure. The unseen scars are too deep. The cuts too embedded. Invisible to the naked eye, but there none the less. The pressure is too much. They crack. Maybe if the process were slower. Painstakingly slow. Like tumbling in the ocean or carving with sandpaper, but the speed of the machine is much too fast.
Sometimes it’s better to just let things be. To not look at the stone and think of what it could be. Of the potential it holds. To not make it into something else. Sometimes, like with people, its best to just see it for what it is. Appreciate it for the beauty it already contains. In trying to make it more or different, we may destroy what was already there. It can be hard to know, when to coax out what’s hidden underneath and when to just appreciate what’s on the surface. Perhaps through listening, quieting our minds and our wills, and opening ourselves to the vibration of something else, we can hear the thoughts unspoken.
Sacred Totems 