Stones

Stone cairns that mark the trail up Arabia Mountain

I have piled stones
on top of one another
for years now
stones of habit
stones of comfort
stones of refuge
stones to settle my heart
stones to mark the days of my journey…

It’s not uncommon to find stone cairns used as trail markers. These piles of stone help us find our way. They lead us somewhere and provide a tangible space to pause and recall. They offer a moment to get our bearings and seek direction. They hint for us to stop and listen for the whispering wind.

We may stand at a cairn and remember. We might dream or hope. Maybe we turn within to figure out the meaning behind this pile of stones. What does this place mean? What are its secrets? What are we meant to find here?

4 thoughts on “Stones”

  1. Remember such cairns well in the rock hills around Sedona. Pretty much no other way to mark the trail.

    But then – maybe sometimes it’s better not to follow that trail where everyone else goes. Maybe those are signs of where not to go …

    Just sayin’

  2. We have built several stone cairns in our woods. The place doesn’t mean a thing. The cairns hold no secrets at all. You aren’t meant to find anything here except the stone cairns.

    Why do we build them? We LIKE them and they are fun.

  3. That last post got me to thinking – Here on top of many of the high glacier-clad mountains is a stone cairn that contains a tin can that contains the log for entries by those who reach the summit. Some are many, many years old and hold great stories!!

  4. Our ramblings led us to many cairns over the years. More recently, I’ve hiked past cairns in Utah and Arizona, in places where, without them, one might easily become lost in a strange and arid landscape.

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