Agility is to learn, de-learn, and relearn all the time . . . (Zhu)
. . .catch life with the agility of a dog trying to get a hold of the flying frisbee . . .(iLdan)
She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails. (Edwards)
Subsidence: the gradual sinking or caving in of the ground. (Dictionary)
Reading an article in the Smithsonian this morning about the accelerating phenomenon of subsidence throughout the world gave me pause. While obviously this is far more significant in other areas of the world than it is on our 35 acres of mountain foothills, we too, are “sinking.” Perhaps because of the subterranean lair of Eddie, our underground troll (see blog entry of 12/29/17, Finding Gold in Hidden Places)?
At any rate, perhaps this phenomenon is at least partially responsible for the swampy, spongy feel to the earth that I’ve described here before, and gives a reason for paying close attention as we walk on ground over which we had previously hiked without thought.
Which of course, since I will speculate about almost anything to distract myself from disturbing ongoing outer events (which I won’t name yet one more time), led me to wonder about the symbolic significance of “the gradual sinking and caving in of the ground.” Sayings such as “as solid as the ground on which I stand,” or “standing your ground,” or “finding common grounds” come to mind . . . And makes me think about how often we use the word “ground” to symbolize something that we think of as unchangeable, solid, something that we count on not changing . . .
It also reminds me of the little ditty we used to sing as children in Sunday school: The wise man built his house upon the rock . . . The foolish man built his house upon the sand . . . And the rains came tumbling down . . . The rains came down and the floods came up . . . And the house on the rocks stood firm.
Like I say, I’ll think of almost anything to distract myself, but on the other hand, it really is interesting to think about those “rocks” in our lives that we count on . . . Our families? Relationships with friends? Our faith? The things we love to do? The sociocultural-political-religious institutions we’ve always known? Geography? Science? Devastation and poverty and injustice and strife? Or perhaps kindness and generosity and reconciliation?
Within this fragile hour of our history, it would seem that many of these things are shifting as well.
Maybe the only thing we can really be sure of is impermanence. If we accept “shifting ground” as a reality, maybe we’ll become much more adept in walking across it. Now there’s a thought that gives me hope . . . And makes me smile to think that in the process of becoming more agile and resilient, we’ll discover some cool stuff as we navigate the shifting sands of life. Like Eddie!
