“Step outside, take a look at the stars…”

Paradoxically, stones are in stars and stars are in stones. In his book The Planet in a Pebble: A Journey into Earth’s Deep History (2010), British geologist Jan Zalasiewicz tells the story of a pebble’s history, stretching back billions of years. In Chapter One, “Stardust”, he points out how, at the atomic level, a pebble is a microcosm of the Universe, made up of that which goes back to the singularity of the beginnings of everything: 

The pebble, in this respect, is as deep a mystery as is everything else in the Universe. How did the matter of that pebble, and of the…hills it was torn from, and of the world it sits atop – and of the Solar System and of the Milky Way, and of countless galaxies near and far – manage to unpack itself from a point: a ‘singularity’, as many think, of no size at all? (page 7)

A pebble is made of stardust and in it we encounter not only the depths of the Earth but also the heights of the heavens. Looking down is a way of looking up. Looking into a stone is also to glance across deep dark space and even time. In a stone we make contact with that which is closest to home as well as that which is furthest away. 

“Making Contact” by Bruce Cockburn

Step outside, take a look at the stars
Catch a glimpse of the way things are
Making contact…

Smell of sweet fresh oil on skin
When you move on me like the tide coming in 
Making contact…

So many ways to understand
One for every woman and man
Been that way since the world began

I hear the drumming of the surf and I have to dance
Stepping to the rhythm of circumstance
Making contact…

I feel so huge,  I feel so small
I feel so good I want to swallow it all
Making contact…

Making contact
Swimming in an ocean of love
We move together like the waves
Swimming in an ocean of love
Every night and every day
Swimming in an ocean of love
One world, one human race
Swimming in an ocean of love
One kiss from a smiling face
Swimming in an ocean of love
See that sign coming into view
Swimming in an ocean of love
Mother sea welcomes you
Swimming in an ocean of love
Making contact…

Author: tumblestoneblog

Retired Academic, male, living in the New Zealand countryside near Whanganui with his wife as well as Jasper the dog, Fluffy the cat, Dancer and Penny, the horses, and a shed half-full of stones. Email john.tumblestone@gmail.com. View all posts by tumblestoneblog