The common stone

Stones are everywhere. No matter where we look, the chances of spotting one are extremely high. We’re pretty much surrounded by them yet, for the most part, completely oblivious to their presence. It’s almost as if their abundance makes them invisible.

But, why should we pay attention to them? I mean, they’re just stones at the end of the day, nothing so special about them. But is this the case?

Stones can be valued in many ways. Some are valued for their function, or their smoothness, or because a human carved an image on them thousands of years ago. Whatever the reason, each and every one of us could find some value in any given stone.

Oftentimes in our society the stones considered valuable are hidden behind paywalls such as museums and heritage sites. This is mainly due to their historical significance or natural phenomena. Each culture has come to an agreement as to which stones deserve to be put on display in these sites and we, the people living in those cultures, accept this.

It makes sense from a human perspective. Some stones do hold more significance than others for all the reasons mentioned above. But I wonder, can we find the same value in the common stone?

It’s a big ask. How could I value a stone in my garden the same way as a stone from the Colosseum. But then I thought, just because a stone wasn’t altered by the touch of a human hand or found beside a national landmark, it shouldn’t take anything away from its natural essence. It has been crafted, molded, and shaped by Nature herself. This leads me to think that appreciation can be found in any stone that embraces its prescribed form.

Each stone plays its own part in a sense. It occupies the space it’s been delegated by natural causes of effects which have been brewing for millions of years. They hold their position with this calm presence about them, until they become disturbed by some external force.

This external force could be us. We walk over them all the time, crush them up to build our infrastructure, skim them across lakes as a source of entertainment, all without taking into consideration the innocence of the stone. Think about it, once the stone has been kicked, crushed, or skimmed, the chances of us ever coming into contact with the exact same stone in its exact same form are next to impossible.

But, should we even care about this?

Take the skimming example, once we find the stone with the perfect dimensions, smoothness, and flatness to achieve the maximum skim, we immediately seize the moment, soon forgetting about the welfare of the stone. We get so caught up in our quest, focused entirely on our technique and the outcome, that the weight of the stone is barely felt between our fingers.

The second the stone leaves your hand and skips across the face of the lake, we feel a great sense of joy in our achievement. The stone has served its purpose; to fulfil our need for pleasure. But did you even notice the stone at all?

In the midst of striving to achieve the end goal, you might’ve quickly glanced upon its qualities and found a small sense of appreciation for them. These would mainly stem from the knowledge that you know they’ll suit the task at hand. But that was it. The stone became invisible after that point.

It’s in the moment, when the final ripple on the lake’s surface leads the others into stillness, that we ought not to feel a sense of joy for our achievement, but a sense of loss towards the stone. As it sinks peacefully towards its new resting place, where it’ll remain, never again to be touched by your hand for the remainder of your existence.

You’ll never be acquainted with that stone again. You shared a moment with it, but once it gets swallowed up by the lake, it’s over. Never again will you get the chance to appreciate how it feels in your hand, with its asymmetrical shape, its round corners and rough edges, and the many shades of colour it possesses. It passed through your hand without you even noticing. 

So what lesson am I taking away from this post? Every stone is unique. We shouldn’t just learn to value the stones with a cultural significance but also show some appreciation to the common stones that still have their own unique role to play in the grand scheme of things.

Le grá.

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