Wandering Wednesday

Here I stand, my feet placed firmly on rock that is estimated to be 3 billion years old.  It is a shelf of Lewisian Gneiss, that is the bedrock of this land.  I am wearing my hiking boots, because I know that soon I will be scrambling around on rocks of a similar age with my 3 year old son.  I have stopped here, as it is my favourite spot to take a photograph of the Callanish Stones.

This stone circle has been standing in this place for at least 5,000 years - pre-dating Stonehenge and the Pyramids.  It gives me a great sense of comfort and security standing here and imagining the vast community of people whose feet have trod this same rock over that time.  I feel grounded, certainly and able to see any worries or troubles from a much bigger perspective.

I look towards the South and see The Sleeping Beauty mountain over in Harris.  Once every 18 years, or so, there is a Lunar standstill, when the Moon comes very close to the Earth.  When this phenomenon is viewed from the stones, it appears as if the mountain is actually giving birth to the Moon.  I imagine crowds of people gathered all those millenia ago watching this miracle, just as they do today.  The next time this will happen will be around the year 2025/6

Looking West over the bay, I notice the contours of ancient lazybeds, or runrigs - a common method of land cultivation used for centuries in this area, before sheep farming became the default use for the land. As we begin our own growing venture here, it is heartening to see these traces of a once productive countryside.

The Stones have seen so much, yet stand, welcoming, without judging or condemning, all those feet who wander to theirs.  A consummate example of being in the present.
Where will your feet wander today?  Visit GardenMama's beautiful space and take part in Wandering Wednesday  - you may be surprised where you find yourself.