“How lovely and how lively a river is. The water flowing through it is never the same water and the water flowing within it is never truly still. It’s always shifting and it’s always on the move. And because of this incessant motion over time the river itself changes as well — widening and deepening as the water uses sand and boulder alike to scrub and scour, gnaw and knead, eat and bore its way into the land.

People are like that too; fully musical like the river, always connected and yet also ever changing — sometimes moving steadily along (andante), sometimes surging over rapids (furioso), sometimes meandering with hardly any visible purpose (tranquilo), sometimes fearfully (pianissimo), sometimes gurgling with pleasure (giacoso ), sometimes sparkling in the sun (brillante ), sometimes hesitant (staccato), sometimes with spontaneous fluidity(legato) , sometimes with emotional conviction (appassionato), sometimes clumsily (pesante), and sometimes nimble afoot (vivace) … And yet no matter its course or tempo, just like music played by a master or a river headed steadily to the sea, life is always to be lived lovingly (amoroso).

And so we are left to each ask: Am I fluid like a river, with my caring ever widening and ever deepening, eddying back on myself sometimes, and yet ever flowing onward to another? And will the I that is me grow and widen and deepen in time? Will I allow people to dam me up and confine my heart so that I end up flowing only where fear would have me go? Or will I make sure I ever flow freely, coursing my way lovingly through the land — giving life to all who live nearby?” ~ inspired by Aidan Chambers

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt