Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Balance Rock

Did you know that there is a 'performance art' of Rock Balancing?  Apparently there is a community of people who spend their time trying to balance seemingly impossible things on top of each other! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriscorrigan/sets/72157594486006613/show/

I attended a Prince Rupert Presbytery meeting last fall on Haida Gwaii, and this is a photo of Balance rock that I took while I was there. 
Balance Rock: Another one of the Queen Charlottes' spiritual wonders is Balance Rock. A large bolder left behind from the glacial retreat of the ice age. Many decades later it still sits perfectly suspended on another rock's pointed head, guarding the shores of Skidegate, Graham Island.
Defying all odds for many centuries, one must scratch their heads and ask, "How come not even the powerful forces of a Queen Charlotte Island storm, with its thundering waves and high winds, are still not able to knock the rock from its magical perch?" Huh ... why is that?
There are some who refer to Balance Rock as the centre of spirituality. It is one of the many natural spiritual forces at work on Haida Gwaii.
This is a very interesting image for me, and one I've held in my mind for the past few months.  It looks like this rock could be moved with the lightest of touches, but yet it holds fast.  You can climb on it, play on it, even try to move it, and it holds fast. 
I wonder... An image of our church?  Of our lives?  Of our approach to self care?  An image of God?
What is that holds me/us/this church fast? 
I am planning to reflect on this image through the season of Lent and see what wisdom it offers.
Blessings, Treena 
Posted by Anonymous at 1:04 PM

3 comments:

  1. Karyn PrestMarch 22, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    I am lucky enough to be living just down the road from this beautiful mystery. I first saw it two years ago when I moved to Haida Gwaii to be with my fiance. This whole island has an aura of mystic and spirituality. Here, we say, Haaw'a Sah Lanna (Thank you, Creator). It is in this place I have found myself and continue to grow, beginning my own path to ministry.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 30, 2011 at 8:42 PM

    Thank you for your comment!
    Treena

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  3. AnonymousNovember 16, 2011 at 4:41 PM

    I use to summer in Haida Gwaii when I was a little girl. My step father brought me to St. Marys spring, then off to Balance Rock. I was amazed at the rock, how it could just balance like that on the other rock. I took my son to Haida Gwaii for the first time when he was only 8 took him to the same places that my stepfater had brought me. My son was just amazed just like I was when I first seen it! I love it over in Haida hope to make a trip back again

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