Stacking Stones

The Southern California beach access was just opened for walkers, joggers and those who need some fresh air.  (It was opened earlier for the surfers, swimmers, and paddle boarders.)  No, you cannot lay your blanket on the sand to enjoy natural vitamin D, you must keep moving.  And you are officially reminded of the local rules by the bland voice constantly blurting out threats over the loudspeakers calling out the malingerers.

So up and down the beach the masses strolled without purpose.  Some stopped beneath an overhanging bluff, wet from seeping water from above, where there was a line of stones stacked one on the other:  Rock balancing or stone stacking, they call it.  Some reached out and added to the formations, but most just looked and admired the handiwork and patience of those unknowns who balanced the rocks, one atop the other.

Were these freshly constructed?  Were they built before the beaches were closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic?  Are these a sign that, “We’re back?”  Are these a monument to the sacrifices we have made waiting for the beach to open?  A sign of remembrance?  A trail marker showing that you are on the right path?

Rock stacking is popular along the California beaches where these ocean rocks and stones are easily found.  It takes time to find the perfect stone in the surf, smoothed over time from pounding waves, grinding them down to the flat mass that is perfect for beach stone stacking.   And in solitude a hand is dipped into the cold wave and the perfect rock is retrieved to add it to the shrine being built. 

With a bit of imagination and a steady hand, the rock stacks are carefully constructed.  Each stone is selected with purpose:  some for color, some for size and some for shape.  The work is slow and intentional, as each stone is judiciously placed on the stack.  A balancing act, so to speak.  

Some do it for the simple fun or challenge, some do it with a spiritual purpose, others do it to leave their mark: “We were here… and here is an Instagram pic of the proof!”

As Joshua did thousands of years ago, rocks were piled in the middle of the Jordan River as a reminder to the future generations of what had happened at that spot.   But tonight, I would like to think that the chimneys of rocks are as a footprint of those who, through creative and meditative activity, rejoiced in the spirit of their freedom as we begin to put the pandemic behind us.