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As easy-breezy as I’d like to be, I’m stubborn as a rock with some things.

I like when my valuables are set in stone, and I like to think of myself as dependable: solid as a rock, steady and unbreakable.

I’m not alone. It’s common for humans to seek stability. Our brains relax when there’s predictability1. Still, even the strongest of rocks break down eventually.

In fact, the Rock Cycle is a fundamental part of geology:

• Rocks form from the melting or compressing of other rocks.

• Then they break down.

• Then they reform into new rocks -starting the cycle again.

Along the way, from their greatest strengths to their weakest moments, rocks always serve a purpose: at their hardest, they form the foundations of valleys and mountains; at their weakest, they feed our gardens.

It’s a helpful reflection for the war between soft and strong that’s been raging inside of me where one side screams, “Don’t be so weak” as the other side whispers, “Don’t be so unyielding.”

Still, no matter the volume, both sides use terror tactics: “Show any sign of weakness and you’ll perish” or “You design your demise with stubbornness.”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, neither side has won this war; they’ve both been stuck in a sense of doom and failure. I guess that’s what happens in a conflict where both sides carry pieces of truth: peace is made from the strong and soft parts too.

It’s another one of those razor’s edges that I walk, teeter-tottering between strong and soft:

How can I love myself as I harden and dissolve?

It’s been a big question for me lately as new wrinkles continue to remind me that we all break down eventually. Every time I talk to my elders, they’ve got a new ache and another friend dying; it’s sad, and scary. And, now, for the first time I can see the same trajectory; every bit of my skin wearing is a reminder of where this life is going.

And yet, as I look closer into my aging face, there too is found a growing strength, a solid soul, that’s more sturdy each day: More sure of myself as I let go of who I am. Evermore confident as I embrace what I’ve been.

In fact, looking back (which has been a daily adventure since the crows have taken residence by my eyes), I’ve begun to see a hopeful pattern come to light: every time I've hardened, there’ve been parts that grew soft. And every time I’ve softened, there’ve been parts that grew strong.

Still, I wouldn’t say I’ve found a resolution to the ongoing tiff between the solid foundation and the crumbling cliff. But, hope does come as I find the gifts in the enduring stone and the dust in the wind.

May peace find us through all of it.

Rock Out in the Rock Cycle

the science behind the song

Though the name for Rock’n’Roll actually comes from the rocking of a boat2 (not stones), I can’t help but to imagine these unassuming grey blobs as the nerdy representatives for the genre of music that would forever change what it means to be human.

But this article isn’t about hip-swirling or head-banging -unless you’re referring to the hard-knocks of wind and rivers who reduce mountains to gravel and grit (which I’d call pretty punk-rock, by definition).

Instead, this articles outlines the Earth science behind the lyrics I’m singing.

So, if you get turned on by dorky explorations of life’s wonders and amazements, here’s a whole 18 hundred words on how rocks cycle between stone and dirt:

Nature-Nerd Notes on the Rock Cycle

Check Out More of My Nature-Nerdy Songs & Stories:

Musical Diary

It’s not always easy being human, but it sure does help to sing through it! In a mix of music, metaphor, and ecology, every song and story affirms the heart of our nature through all of life’s weather and wonders.

Hear More Love Songs to Our Nature

Little Ditties

In trying times, I look to the world around me for reflections to keep my heart going, then I anchor them in little ditties. Check it out:

Love Notes to Our Nature

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