The Restory Retreat Centre

Photo: George Angus When doing stone balancing I wish to be as open and receptive as possible. I do not want to force my ideas or wishes onto the structure taking shape under my hands. It is at root a meditative, creative process with amazement and surprise important elements as well. During our monthly Quiet Day last Saturday, the rock pile I erected down at the river was done against that backdrop. I did not venture far from the big rock that acted as the platform for my structure in search of stones – maybe 5 metres in any direction.  It’s difficult to describe how you know when you have gathered enough stones. I do not count them and do not look for any particular shape. When I feel I have enough I simply stop and start building. And I trust that these rocks came together and that they will settle in such a manner on top of each other that all will be used and what will eventually stand there in the river bed will be a unique expression of this collectio...

Photo by George Angus The toad beneath the harrow knows exactly where each tooth point goes; The butterfly upon the road preaches contentment to that toad.                                                            Rudyard Kipling I am not exaggerating when I say that every morning, when I mount my bicycle and turn onto the main dirt road that passes our house, I think of Kipling’s poem. Traveling by car you rush past landmarks and speed over bumps and stones. But with cycling it’s a different story. Very early in the morning, with the sun just above the horizon, some of the bigger stones in the road even cast shadows.  The section next to the camp of the cows with their calves is particularly rough. The slope leading down to the dams where Sebastien does bass fishing has about a 100 metres of hard, smooth...

Photograph by André Parsons Be still Listen to the stones of the wall Be silent, they try To speak your Name. Listen To the living walls. Who are you? Who Are you? Whose Silence are you?                                                    Thomas Merton