A Question of Balance

We took our new campervan over the Cascade mountain range this weekend...in search of the sun. (Autumn has come to the Northwest and so has the rain.) Many folks aren't aware that the Eastern half of our state is quite dry and arid...not at all like  'Sleepless in Seattle', which is how most foreigners imagine Washington State. In fact, Winthrop, Washington, our destination, advertises 300 sunny days per year. (They omit the part about the sun shining on the snow!) Winthrop is a charming 'Western-style' town. The outlying areas remind me of 'The Ponderosa' from Bonanza.

We pulled into Goodell Creek Campground in Newhalem late the first night. Newhalem is still on the west side of the Cascades at only about 500 feet above sea level. Diablo Dam is situated on the Skagit River in Newhalem. On Saturday morning we explored the campground and the river. This is what we found on the river's gravel bar...

How appropriate! Here we were, looking for some balance in our lives, trying to carve out some rest and relaxation and what do we find; but a river bar littered with inukshuks!

Inukshuks as the Inuit call them or Cairns, as the Celts call them have been around for centuries. They are markers, whose significance is defined by their builders. They may be boundaries or geographical markers. They may be messages for those who follow. Or they may be holy places. Abraham built an altar of stones to God at Bethel, which means 'house of God'. His grandson Jacob visited the place years later and had an encounter there with angels who were descending on a heavenly ladder. So when you see an inukshuk, it would do you well to be reverent. Who knows what kind of prayers have been prayed in this place?

 

Inukshuks are not easy to build. Neither is a life of balance. You must find a solid base, one broad enough to support future stones. Diverse shapes, textures, and colors are important to create interest. The real challenge is to make them stand. Do you have a solid base in your life? Have you any color or texture to it? Is it standing strong, or are you trying to add things that will cause it to topple?

My inukshuk is the second picture from the top. The one with the leaf delicately balanced on top. I will leave you to try and interepret it's meaning if you wish.

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