My new Canadian friend, Grace, gave me an inukshuk recently.  For you Americans not situated in Gov. Palin’s neck of the woods, an inukshuk is a statue or symbol originating from the Inuit culture and used as a means to guide or navigate.  But for me, even more of the appeal is that it is made out of rock.

I LOVE rocks!

From the rocky shores of Maine, to the secluded beaches in Martha’s Vineyard with their sea-smoothed stones, to the beautiful Petoskey stones in Northern Michigan, to an ordinary flat rock suitable for skipping across a pond, I just love them.  I’ve even been known to hug a boulder or two in my day.  And when my house sells and the movers start carrying out the boxes, I’m sure a couple will be scratching their heads, wondering what could be so heavy and thinking it feels like I’ve packed a bunch of rocks…because I have! 

  So I was thrilled when my boyfriend and I set off on a beautiful fall day to traipse up a mountain trail and take in the glorious fall scenery, only to discover the many rocks along the trail.  Nothing is more fun to me than leaping from one boulder to another, trying to figure out which is the more steady path to take.  

Have you ever heard the expression, “too much of a good thing”?

   As we continued on our trek, which had now shifted from a lovely day outing to a mission to be accomplished, the rocks increased in their numbers and decreased in size, causing one’s foot to roll and to lose balance with greater frequency.  I went from adoring these gifts of nature to cursing these worthless nuisances.  And they went on and on and on.  Now the walk was more of a race just to get to the blasted top so that we could take a break from all these miserable impediments!  The way down wasn’t any better.  For one, we were even more determined to end our travails and just wanted it to be over.  Forget that romantic notion of a leisurely stroll hand in hand….this was every man for himself (or herself).   

And then it happened.  They took me down. 

  I decided that I had 2 choices:  I could lay there and rue the day and my boyfriend and his ridiculous idea in the first place, or I could take a breath and enjoy my surroundings.  Here’s what it looked like from this new perspective:  I realized it was a beautiful day and that I was so focused on the negative of the experience that I was totally missing the positive.  The leaves were changing, the sky was blue, it was a serene environment, and life – in spite of the rocky road – was good.   I’ve been caught up in the pervasively creeping fear that has edged into seemingly every corner of life around me.  It’s easy to do.  It’s easy to stumble or fall on the path these days and even those who haven’t have seen enough who have and are worried for their own security and safety.  I didn’t realize it was becoming so ingrained in me until I spent a morning with a group of positively minded women, who stood out in sharp contrast to the negativity which had been slowly cloaking me.   

Sometimes it takes the proverbial fall to make us take notice.  It’s always our choice on the way we want to see things.  Who knew that those innocuous stones could really prove to be an inukshuk for me.   They pointed the way, forcing me to look up.  I can now see that although the way is rocky, there’s always a different perspective which allows you to see the beauty of the situation - even if you look ridiculous in the process.