A rock story

31 March 2023 

Hi Singhy and Bagheera,

I see you are enjoying sitting on the veranda.

Singhy and Bagheera

In three weeks, we will cross the Pyrenees mountain from Saint Jean Pied du Port to Roncesvalles.  I see the pass is still closed due to snow. l hope the weather change before we get there. 

Can I ask you a favour, please? 

I feel left behind because Punda does not take me with them on their training walks.

Please remind him that he should be more considerate of my feelings. I would also love to experience what they find so uplifting while walking in the mountains at Jonkershoek nature reserve. Since they are carrying their backpacks to get used to the weight, there is no reason why I can not join them. My weight is such that it will make no difference anyway.

I must say, he does tell me about his experiences, but it is not like being there at the time. 

The other day Punda went hiking on his own, with strict instructions from Mpanzi about what routes he could follow. As far as I can gather, he mostly, with some unplanned and also unbeknown by Mpanzi detours, followed the agreed-on way.

Anyway,  let me tell you about the discussion we had about a rock that he brought back from Jonkershoek.  I asked him why on earth do you add a stone to your backpack. His answer was two-fold; firstly, it was after lunch. Thus, the coffee and sandwich were in his tummy, which made the pack lighter. Adding weight is better for training. 

Secondly, the stone caught his eye due to something interesting. 

Look at the photo of all the whitish rocks that were washed onto the road during a recent storm. What a storm it must have been to move all that gravel down the mountainside! 

Rocks washed into the road.

In the next photo, you will see me sitting beside the chosen rock while Punda talks about it. The stone was cracked, and the two pieces fit neatly. Do you see the dark inside colour?  Only the outer layer is whitish.

Punda said that stone was in a storm and got cracked due to all the rough and tumble coming down that mountain. 

That made him think about what comes out of a man when life gets rougher. Do you then look like the stone, a thin white layer on the outside with much darkness inside?  

My advice is to check yourself to keep the darkness from spilling out and worsening the situation. Before you say something, remember Nicky Gumbell's three gatekeepers for your words. He mentioned these in a daily devotional message: 

1 is it the truth

2 is it kind

3 is it necessary.

Let's try to keep those gatekeepers in place.

I must go now. 

Cheers

Msafiri