“I was watering the young trees and bushes in my backyard when I felt the impulse to sprinkle water on a large granite boulder that lay next to one of the trees. It felt like this boulder wanted a bath or drink of water as well, so I watered it. As I look back on it, my behavior seems irrational to me, and yet I still feel I did the right thing. I swear that boulder was thirsty.”
Jim was puzzled by his interaction with the boulder, and was curious why he did what he did. From the perspective of his logical mind his thoughts and actions make no sense—rocks don’t get thirsty–but looked at symbolically a different meaning emerges. A granite boulder is powerful, strong, and enduring. It is like the soul which sees all and endures forever. Water, in turn, is a symbol of the spirit which cleanses, heals, and quenches one’s thirst for God.
Jim reflected on these ideas and then said, “I water my plants as a matter of course. It’s a weekly routine and I don’t think much about it. But that boulder was reminding me to water and nourish my soul. It is as if my soul called out to me through that rock. ‘Feed me. Quench my thirst. Bathe me in your cool, refreshing liquid.’ And it was right on. I’ve become so wrapped up in worldly concerns and goals I’ve been dying of thirst inside. I haven’t been watering my soul and it’s been dying of thirst.”
Have you watered your boulder lately?