Angel on the Trail

“Sometimes people don’t need advice; all they need is a hand to hold, an ear to listen, and a heart to understand them” ~Unknown

I sat silently in the middle of a stream listening to sounds of the waterfall at the bottom of a steep embankment along the trail. I could feel the tiny drops splashing on my arms and face, the day wasn’t super-hot by any means, but the droplets are refreshing and remind me of the infinite source of nature; though my mind which always seems to be racing was again full of thoughts, stillness in this moment allowed my awareness to increase.

My eyes were closed and sunlight that shone through the trees was warm on my face. There is a certain grace you feel in nature as the outside world moves at a pace difficult to keep up with. I felt a presence descending down toward the stream and opened my eyes to see a woman making her way down. She was certainly in shape and fearlessly navigating her way down the hill; this has to be a spot she frequents. I did my very best not to stare at her as she gathered rocks around the stream, stacking them on top of a much a larger rock to form a tower. This was quite intriguing to me. After several minutes of this she waved at me, her smile inviting and at ease. I decided to approach her; curiosity as well as this woman’s approachable nature guided me toward her.

“What is it that you’re doing?” I asked. Her reply was carefully thought out, though it also seemed as if she wanted to use the right words so that I would understand. “It’s spiritual, for a few minutes I concentrate on balancing the rocks and it centers me”. I smiled an understanding smile she continued; “Does your mind ever race? Go a little crazy with thoughts you can’t seem to stop?” She was speaking my language now! The woman kept on, “Building the tower with rocks forces you to slow down for a few minutes and start over”. With that, she topped off her rock tower and told me she needed to go pick up her daughter. I thanked her and watched as she ascended the embankment back up toward the trail. She was half way up the hill when she turned to me and said “you should probably try it”. Indeed I would.

The next day I was back at the trail, heading toward the waterfall determined to build my own tower near the one that was created by the woman a day earlier. To my surprise it was knocked down. At first I was pissed off because, well, who would knock it down? It’s a tough hike just to get to that place and she searched for all those rocks to build with. Then it came to me, as I built my own tower on a different large rock that sometimes things need to be knocked down. The large rocks were the foundation that could constantly be used to rebuild new towers and new ideas. We could create or construct anything as long as there is a solid foundation to work with. We can be knocked down, even stay down for a while, but as long as at the base of our hearts there is good and love and understanding, there is always a shot at reconstruction. You just have to be willing to jump off the cliff or descend a steep embankment to begin building again. Relationships, friendships, recovering from addictions, healing old wounds, or simply knowing ourselves better begin with the solid foundation of love. 

We have to create our own towers and perhaps along the way someone will come along who is interested, who understands, who would like to build something too. The climb back to the trail, to the top of the world will be something that is nurtured and earned. We will know new freedom and happiness and above all know that we can keep building our dreams, our relationships, and our lives. Angels are everywhere when we’re open to hearing them.