Only Change is Real, Rocky Fork Creek

The other day, I visited the Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park for the first time. Both the road and hiking trails run alongside the Rocky Fork Creek, which is stunning. I visited the park with my friend Susanna Euston, a wonderful human being and photographer, who observed how many trees had fallen since she was there a few weeks before. The Appalachian region has suffered so many intense storms with flooding rains of late, reminding us of the power of water, but walking through this area I also observed that trees don’t give up easily. The battle for survival inspired me to write a series of haikus to accompany my images.

Holding Onto the Earth Against All Odds

-1-

On the cusp of falling

Roots arch and twist back to earth

Trees won’t give up hope

United and Divided They Stand

-2-

Trunks unite and divide

Framing cascades that promise

Sustaining waters

Redistribution

-3-

Late winter’s flooding rains

Felled trees and shifted stream banks

Only change is real

Finding a Way Through

-4-

Water finds a way

Around boulders and blockages

Roots clutch dissolving earth

-5-

A stream divided

Ringed by a chorus of trees

The many in the one

Convergence in Chaos

-6-

Rocks, trunks, limbs, and leaves

Converge in the midst of chaos

Holding on for now

I look forward to returning to this area again soon, to see how it continues to shift. The struggle to remain alive can indeed be beautiful and is worth celebrating, even during the most challenging times, because the struggle is life. Our journeys are manifestations of our responses to the unavoidable obstacles we meet that imbue our lives with deeper meaning and become pathways to achieving grace. The 17th Century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho once said:

”Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought. Seek the meaning behind their footsteps, and not upon the steps themselves. For in seeking the footsteps you shall be glancing only upon the next footprint. And you're sure to stumble upon an unforeseen obstacle.

But in seeking the meaning behind their footsteps you're sure to see ahead; comparable to looking up while walking. Thus allowing you to easily manoeuvre around the hurdles on the path you walk.

…And if you walk like this long enough, you'll one day, to your surprise, find yourself among the wise.”