I now have in my possession a jar full of black river stones. The stones are all of various shapes and sizes, and alone are nothing more than simple stones, but collectively within the jar, they are heavy. It is a burden to carry the jar with these stones.
The stones will represent different aspects of me - negativity, guilt, grief, burden, hatred, anger, sorrow...
My journey over the summer will be to relieve these stones from the jar. Taking them with me as well as my camera, I will find a place to meditate, leaving one or a few stones there. The stones left will be a removal of these dark feelings I've had, and step by step I will empty out the suffering I have been causing to myself and to all of you. Where I go, I will bring along my mala (Buddhist prayer beads) and my camera, where I will take a picture of the place I have left the stone only as a memory of the journey. By the end of this project, I will have collected a gallery of various places where I have left my suffering and gained more peace.
The places are seemingly endless. I have a few thoughts so far, and will list them here:
- The Botanical Gardens
- Chickasabough Park in Prichard, AL
- Blakely State Park in Baldwin County (Civil War battlefield)
- The Cathedral
- The boardwalk near Spanish Fort, AL
- The nature trail at my college
- Bayfront Park on the way to Dauphin Island
- Dauphin Island beach
- Mobile Zoo or Gulf Coast Zoo
-
Indian Shell Mound Park
-
5 Rivers Center
-
Environmental Studies Center
- A place to have a cup of tea with Mom
- Various places I remember Dad or my cousin at.
Below I will post pictures from each place.
