pause for a perk
gratis
The Cairn
Walking along the river I found it, just where I thought I could cross. The water was
cold; it always is, this close to the mountains. I was looking for a way over without
getting my feet wet.
spring 2014
Cairn Stone Nature Torrent Tyrol Mountains
To everything there is a season,
and a time to every matter under heaven:
There it was: a cairn, rock upon rock, tipsy-looking but solid to the touch. It was on the
other side. The water was four feet wide, just far enough that I wasn’t sure I could
jump it. If it were a crevasse, no way. Cold water? Maybe.
a time to be born, and a time to die;
I leapt. I missed. Icy water came over the edge of my boot, soaking my socks and
chilling my ankles. I stumbled out of the stream and put my hand on the cairn to
steady myself.
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
There was a note, a scribble on a shred of paper. Tucked under the rocks in the cairn
there was another, and another. Notes? I opened one: gratitude for three years sober.
I opened another: seeking friendship. And another: still trying.
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
I stopped opening the next one and put it back. It felt personal, uncanny, holy. I sat
down and took off my shoes. Ha! I thought. Holy ground, take off your shoes. Well,
I’d need fresh socks at least. Sitting on the cold pebbly beach, looking at the cairn from
the ground, I wondered about the hikers who’d been here before me, people who
might have leapt the stream successfully, who stopped nonetheless to take in a
moment with the cairn.
There are things we cannot know about the possibilities life holds for us until we stop,
sit still and look around. Here I was on an unfamiliar path, crossing the water into
unknown territory. A heap of rocks had stopped me in my tracks. The notes had
captured my attention. I was not comfortable; my feet were cold and the pebbles I was
sitting on were sharp.
Anthropologists call this liminal space, where our perspectives can shift, our attention
is distracted from the routine, we are vulnerable to transformation, and new forms of
being and living may be discovered. Sometimes it is beautiful. Sometimes it hurts.
I wrote a note, too. But I didn’t put it in the cairn. I took it home so I would never
forget this moment out of time. I wrote:
Someone has been here before me. I am not alone.
a time to plant, and a time
to pluck up what is planted;
a time to break down, and a time
to build up;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time
to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time
to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time
to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time
to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
NRSVA
Day 5
perk: become more cheerful, lively, or interesting.
wholeheartednutrition.ca
facebook.com/wholeheartednutrition
Stone Soup - A Family Affair! (GF, DF)
-adapted from thenourishinghome.com
6-8 servings
Ingredients: The Stones: 3 small, red or white boiler potatoes,
cleaned and scrubbed
Soup Ingredients:
1 quart (4 cups) filtered water
1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
6 red or white boiler potatoes, quartered
1 medium onion, diced,
5 medium organic carrots, sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced thick (or use 1 cup frozen green beans)
4 organic celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
6 sprigs fresh thyme
Seasonings: 1 tbsp sea salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 3 bay leaves
Instructions: Pre-chop and have ready all of the ingredients before
inviting your children to help. Read the book Stone Soup together.
(or find a version of the story online and tell it in your own way).
Then, have your children place one small whole potato (the stones!)
into the crockpot. Have your oldest child slowly pour in the watervinegar mixture (a one litre jar works well). Begin stirring the “stone
soup” and telling the story, asking for each of the ingredients
starting with the seasonings. You could place ingredients in various
areas of the kitchen to make it even more fun for little ones to run
and find. As the children add the them, keep stirring, and ensure
veggies are submerged in water. Cover and cook on low about 8
hours (or on high about 5 hours). Remove and discard the thyme
sprigs and bay leaves. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and
enjoy the magical taste of healthy homemade stone soup!
EDMONTON
Thursday, April 10
7:30-9:30
Drop in to St. Paul’s 11526 - 76 Ave
for tea, cake & open conversation
about death, dying & grief. No pressure,
no preaching, no strings attached.
www.stpaulsunited.org
Dear Grace,
My friend's dog died recently. She is devastated. I’ve never had
a pet myself so I think she’s overreacting. Is there something I
should be doing? I feel helpless.
Impatient
Dear Impatient,
1. “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Latin
2. “Don’t waste too many stones on one bird.” Chinese
3 “When you see a rock coming, it hurts less.” Greek
4. “ Gifts break rocks.” Spanish
5. “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.”
Chinese
6. “ River stones remain, while water flows away.” Romanian
7. “ People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
English
8. “He who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small
stones first” Chinese
9. “ The good mill grinds stones.” Greek
10. “He who hunts for an elephant should not stop to throw
stones at birds.” African
11. “ He who has a glass head should not throw stones at others.”
Italian
12. “Beware of the scorpion that rests under the rock.” Greek
13. “When a king reigns it is thanks to the people, when a river
sings it is thanks to the stones. Malagasy.
14. “ The pebble in the brook secretly believes itself to be a
precious stone.” Japanese
15. “ A rock that rolls cannot build a home.” Greek
16. “Envy sees only the sea not the rocks in it.” Russian
17. “A lucky man is someone who plants pebbles and harvests
potatoes.” Greek
18. “ One pebble doesn’t make a floor.” Nigerian
19. “It’s only the tree loaded with fruits that people throw stones
at.” French
20. “We should build with the stones we have.” Swedish
21. “ Rocks and mud-bricks and wood and tiles thrown without any
structure do not make a house.” Ancient Greek
22. “ The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping
stones is the way you use them.” American
23. “It is drops of water that make a hole in the rock.” Greek
24. “ When all the water has gone, only the largest stones will still
remain in the riverbed.” African
25. “Call on God but row away from the rocks.” North American
26. “I do not know how I may seem to others, but to myself I am
only a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge,
every now and then finding a small bright pebble to be contented
with.” Plato
Grief is a many-splendoured thing. It covers a spectrum of
losses. We grief family, friends, old relationships, work we
have retired from, the loss of a limb, a childhood home.
Sometimes one loss brings other losses back into the soul, &
the devastation seems bottomless. Often memory of recovery
from grief brings hope.
Our culture tells us grief is a disease, something to get over.
Truthfully, it is part of living, & absorbing it into our character
is a way we mature.
Your friend may be feeling the memory of old losses. She may
be wondering how to form new habits without the company &
demands of her pet. She may have loved that dog deeply –
who knows what paths they walked together.
Love, of course, is a many-splendoured thing. So is friendship.
Take heart, & show up. Bring a card or a casserole.
Patience is a virtue,
Grace
(Grace invites your letters and questions.
Send them to [email protected])
Fill the 9 X 9 grid with letters so each column,
each row, and each of the nine 3 X 3 grids contain
all of the letters from the word DISCOVERY.
perk is published as a community service of St. Paul’s United Church, 11526 - 76 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 0K7 www.stpaulsunited.org