4. Why be more like a rock

Sylvia Rose is getting to know me. She wants to help me discover my new inner strength. Perhaps she can see something in me that I can’t at the moment. 

27th Oct 2021  

Me - Morning, Sylvia-Rose. Me again 

SR - Morning, Jan. I missed you yesterday.   

Me - Sorry, I was out with friends and then the tide came in. 

SR - No problem. You must enjoy yourself. I am not here to be a prop to your happiness I am here to share my thoughts with you.   

Me – Thanks. Why? What makes you so wise?  

SR – I have been around for a VERY long time. Over the centuries, I have heard many conversations as people have walked by.   

Me – Well, chatting with you, really helps. It is a pretty grey and miserable day today. It is forecast to get worse. You always look the same. Do you feel the same in bad weather? 

SR - Sure. I am a rock. Obviously, I prefer it when the sun is out and I have the warmth on my back. This wet is cold and 'us' rocks are just very hard sponges! It is how it is though.   

Me - People get down when the weather is grey. It often feels like our emotions are attached to the weather. Not enough sunlight, too much rain, too windy, and down we go, comfort food and drink to the rescue. How do we become more rock-like? 

SR - The thing is, Jan, I am a rock. I know I am a rock. There is no point in me wanting to be anything else. Some days are rainy and some days are sunny but I am still a rock.   

Me - I am not quite sure where you are going with this. It had better be good,  I am all ears. 

SR - What I am trying to say is know who you are. When you know, be that. Don’t be what someone else expects you to be. That way, no matter what weather (using that as symbolic) life throws at you, you can always be you, a rock, like me. Find the rock inside you.  

Me - Life can throw some pretty horrible storms at us, (I am also using that as symbolic) some of those storms can truly take our emotions down. How do we stay strong during those storms? How do we stand firm, like a rock, during those storms? 

SR - We are getting deep here. I guess I see two things. First of all, when the weather is calm and bright, don't fritter that time away. Use that time to discover you, to find your inner rock. It is only during bad weather you will know if you found it. If you haven’t, the emotional storms to come will help you strengthen and keep you on your path to your inner rock. I think I am now getting lost in this analogy.  

Me - I think what you are saying is when life is good, don’t take it for granted. To keep developing your inner strengths so they are there when you need them? 

SR - Correct. Normally, when life is good it is tempting to fritter time away. The saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’, is the same for your emotions too, not just your finances.   

Me - Thanks, Sylvia-Rose, you have given me food for thought. I need to put that into practice. Practicing being a rock in a storm. I guess that means standing firm when the tsunami of emotions comes in. Breathe. Don’t give in. Hold strong. We don’t have to say anything. We don’t have to do anything. Just don’t do anything to make the storm worse. You said there were two things about the storm. 

SR - Yes. The second would be to have faith. Faith in you. Faith in life. Faith that things always change. The sun follows the rain. It always has and always will. We just don’t know how long either of them stay with us. Appreciate both, for that is when you discover your rock. 

Me - Wow. That is powerful. I will practice that. 

SR - It isn’t easy but good to practice. Keep going. Murray is very proud of you.  

Me - Thanks, Silvia-Rose. I am going to get back now. I like this wisdom. Bless you. 

“To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over.  

It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.” 

Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, 121 – 180 AD 

Perhaps this is the ultimate goal. To stand strong in the face of adversity until the seas around us calm once more.