The Woman And The Rock

This is a story that came to me as I reikied myself to sleep the other night. Now it is my Christmas gift to you all. Enjoy! xo

The Woman and The Rock

A young woman is walking in the desert. In her arms she carries a rock. After some years she encounters another traveller and they stop to greet each other.

“May I enquire,” asks the man, “why you are carrying that rock?”

“This rock,” she replies, “is all that I have and it has been in my company since I was born!”

The man, dissatisfied, enquired some more. “But surely, it offers you no protection from the elements and it is cumbersome and heavy…why not just put it down?”

“You don’t understand! This is my rock and therefore mine to carry. If I put it down, who knows what will happen?”

The man, exasperated, but wise enough to know he was only master of his own will, wished her well and continued on his journey.

Another year passes, and the rock has grown, but the young woman, tired, lonely, aching, and her skin aged by the sun, continues to carry her rock. She sees an old woman with some flowers, and stops to greet her.

“My dear child, please, won’t you take one of my flowers and put down that large rock? You look exhausted from your journey and my flowers are so much lighter and have such a sweet smell, that I am sure you will feel refreshed!”

“Thank you kind woman, but this rock is all that I have and it is mine alone to carry. If you gave me a flower to carry as well, it would surely be crushed and its sweet smell only distract me from my journey…”

The wise old woman acquiesced, wished her well and turned to continue on her journey.

“…But perhaps I could wear just a small flower in my hair, to remind me of our meeting, if that would please you?”

The old woman smiled, secured a small yellow flower in her hair, and was on her way again.

Over the next year, the young woman became even more weary, and so would stop every now and then to rest, and smell the flower, and she indeed felt refreshed, just as the wise old woman had said. However, without water, both her and the flower wilted, and though her large rock continued to get bigger and heavier, she still would not leave it.

One day, as the young woman stops to wipe the sweat from her brow, she spies a small boy in the distance, who rushes to greet her.

“Madame, please let me help you carry that giant rock! It is far too much for just one person to carry – I am still very young and have more than enough time and energy to spare.”

As the woman opened her mouth to politely refuse such a kind request, she found herself moved by the passion and innocence in his eyes. His eager smile filled her heart with love, and she found she could no longer bring herself to turn him away. Slowly and somewhat clumsily, they lifted the giant rock, and continued on their journey.

Yet, only moments later, both were scraped and bruised from struggling to keep it balanced between them, and for all their efforts, neither one could carry on.

“I am so sorry Madame, perhaps if I were older and stronger, I could carry it for you,” the boy remarked.

“No, it is I who am sorry,” assured the woman, “for it was never yours to carry. It has always been mine, and you are not used to its weight. I believe I must continue alone…though I will always remember your smile and your kindness. Thank you.”

“I too will never forget our short journey together. I feel even stronger than before, and you have given me a lot to think about. Thank you also.”

And so the woman and the boy wished each other well and parted company.

A further year passed, and though the woman’s spirit was lifted every time she stopped to rest and reminisce about the boy and the old woman with her flowers, she was finding it more and more difficult to move forward. The rock was now too large to carry, and she had to use her entire body to shift it, one agonising step at a time. Her mouth was dry, her skin scorched and scarred and her body sinewy. At last, she gave a final heave, and collapsed in a heap at the foot of her rocky boulder, tears streaming down her face.

That night, she lay there, looking up at the stars, and thought about the travellers she had met. She yearned for them to appear again and desperately wished that she had never been given her rock. She wondered what her life might have been like, if she had simply dropped the rock and joined them on their journeys instead…

But now, resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes, breathed in and whispered, “I give up! I can no longer carry this burden. I accept whatever my short time left will bring, but ask only that I may have a sip of water before I leave this desert.”

The desert winds blew up around her, and as the sand settled again, she opened her eyes one last time to see a hand extended towards her. As she looked up she realised that it was the man she had first met all those years ago. He said nothing, but simply smiled at her, helped her sit up and offered her his canteen to drink from. Then he used the water to clean her wounds and sat down next to her to enjoy the night sky.

“May I enquire,” he asked with a knowing smile, “what made you put down your rock?”

The woman, sated, but still dazed, looked up at her mini mountain and back at him in disbelief.

The man grinned and continued. “Then may I also ask, why don’t you leave it behind and join me instead?”

The woman opened her mouth to respond, but at first no words came out. She could think of no good reason to stay, except one. “It is all I have,” she muttered, unconvincingly.

The man tipped back his head and broke into gentle laughter. “But that just isn’t true!” he exclaimed. “You have eyes that have seen the best and the worst of this land, a heart filled with determination and love, and a mind that has grown so much more than your rock ever could.”

She looked down at her hands, rough and scarred like the rest of her body.

“And,” he continued, “you are stronger than ever. It takes strength to carry such a burden, and even more strength and wisdom to know when it is time to let go. You need never forget your lessons, for your body will always bear these marks. But now, it is time to move on.”

Together they stood and clambered up to the top of the boulder to see which way to go. Then they climbed down, and hand in hand, set off to find their destination.

18.12.11