copyright © 2003, all rights reserved.
first performed 9/24/03
Find yourself in a comfortable place. This place may be in the woods, or on a meadow. It may be near a lake, or on a mountainside. But wherever your place may be, it should be a place which seems home to you.
The sun grows warm and bright here, and it becomes midday. The early parts of the afternoon are growing lazy, and you find yourself enjoying the relaxed day. There is a warm breeze and the music of the birds and other animals.
Your sacred place now reveals a simple dirt path leading away in the distance. You find yourself drawn to explore this simple path. And so you begin walking.
You soon leave behind your sacred place and find yourself disappearing into a dense growth of vegetation. There are shrubs here getting thicker and thicker. Finally the shrubs give way to small trees and flowery bushes. The trees grow taller and thicker as your path winds in among the lush green vegetation.
And the birds and other animals sing you along the way. Every now and then the sun breaks an opening in the trees and creates a clearing in the thick forest. And your path continues a way further.
At last you see the forest coming to an end and opening into a great clearing. The sky is a brillliant blue, dotted with whispy white clouds. And the warm breeze again picks up for a moment, causing the trees to dance in the bright light. They sway to and fro before gently settling down again, just as you reach the edge of the clearing.
You have arrived at a small meadow, surrounding a clear lake. As you look into the lake you see the sky reflected as though it is a perfect mirror. And you see yourself reflected as well.
Nearby is a pile of pebbles, neatly arranged as though they had been anticipating your arrival and had been placed there for you. As you examine them, you notice that the pebbles are wet, as though they had been in the lake only moments before. They are already drying in the warm sun and the warm breeze.
The breeze!
Again it blows, and this time you watch the ripples it creates in the surface of the lake. It gently moves across the water and just as soon is gone, but the ripples move a while longer, gradually fading in the great pool of water.
A pebble seems to jump off the rock pile and roll to your feet. It seems almost to want you to notice it. You pick up the pebble and gently toss it into the lake. You almost hear a gentle giggle as the pebble slips into the water. And the splash creates ripples in the water which gently sweep outward in all directions. The ripples interact with those made by the wind, and sometimes even overpower them. And the ripples grow smaller and smaller as they sweep away from the splash point. Yet they finally reach the far shores of the lake.
For a moment you think you hear another giggle. You look down to your feet to discover another pebble lying there. You think you have this game figured out now. So you grab this pebble and toss it into the lake as well. You may throw it gently or hard. You may skip the pebble across the lake before it finally splashes into the water a distance away. And just as soon as you have thrown the next pebble, you find another has jumped to your feet.
And so you throw another pebble and another into the lake, watching the ripples sweep across the waters; watching the ripples interact with one another. The breeze is also creating ripples in the water. And from time to time you see fish and frogs creating their own ripples in the lake.
You have been having so much fun with the pebbles that you just now notice that the sun is setting behind you. And ahead of you the full moon is rising, bringing it's own soft light to the mostly clear sky.
The sky behind you fades to orange and red. And the blue sky overhead grows darker. Before long, stars begin to appear over your head, one by one, until the sky is a dark place full of stars.
As you again look to the lake, you see the stars reflected in its gentle waters. Another pebble has found its way to your feet now. As you pick up the pebble, you notice that the moonlight is very bright tonight and that you can see well in this soft light.
You toss the pebble into the lake and watch as the ripples seem to move the stars. More ripples appear in the water, all reacting to one another. And even the smallest ripples sweep all the way across the water eventually.
The wind picks up again, creating sweeping ripples which flow back and forth across the star-filled lake. You see your reflection shimmering in the moonlit lake. And the sound of crickets merges with the sound of the pebbles splashing in the waters.
You now find yourself drawn to the lake. You walk forward into the water. Deeper and deeper still. The water is at times calming, and at other times seems very busy with activity. But the waves you make do not make the water unpleasant. And the waves that are already there do not cause you any discomfort either. You simply find yourself floating in the comforting waters.
As you float along, the waters carry you to different parts of the lake: the center, the far shore, and other places. The water is so peaceful, in fact, that for a moment you close your eyes. The splashing fades, and soon you find yourself once again in your sacred place. The sky now is becoming populated with clouds, which obscure the moon. And your place becomes darker, until at last, all is dark and only the sound of your breathing remains.
Created by Guides Chandonn, Hypatia X, and Sophia X Pharou
Last modified: 06/20/2009