In the beginning he was so unclear about what had happened. There was this vague image in his mind of some kind of presence he felt that may have created him? Even that “fact” was up for debate. All he remembers with any kind of certainty was that he couldn’t remember anything at all until the breath of life was blown into him.
What he remembers next is feeling the warmth of the sun on his face. He tried looking at the sun, but his eyes couldn’t stand the gaze. Averting his face, he saw a shape on the ground and was surprised when it echoed his own movements like a dance partner. It was in this moment that he felt his body and became fully aware that he was physical and could move around in space. He took a minute or two, three, four…to survey his birthplace.
What he saw astonished him! Positioned in the sand were lots of pieces that looked like the same material he was made from. It was a bit creepy and confusing for him and his next impulse was to escape. This decision set him upon the path that would be his life’s adventure. He walked and walked and everything he saw was new, confusing, and miraculous to him. There were trees and plants and other life forms that occupied the same space and were delightful to behold. It took a while to absorb and understand some of the things he was encountering. After a half day’s journey or so, the traveler came to a place different from where he began and after surveying this field…he had an epiphany.
It was a debris field full of all kinds of materials…some of which resembled the pieces he saw before and which constituted his very physical being. He realized that he was made of the stuff of the world and felt the kinship. He further intuited that these materials were themselves extracted from what had lived and came before. Life is built upon life…dust to dust…ashes to ashes…plastic to plastic. The Traveler moved on.
The Traveler was gaining experience of the world which then led to knowledge of it. He encountered many other objects and filed them away in his being for future reference. One such object was this immense cable or rope and our hero recognized that all the individual strands of this rope gave it great strength and unity when they were woven and twisted together. The sun was at its high point and the day was getting hot. The Traveler decided to move into the shade of the trees to cool off and discover what he could learn there. After an hour’s walk or two or three…he came to a large black tunnel leading into the ground and it beckoned to him.
Reflexively, the Traveler overcame any misgivings and entered the tunnel. It felt cool which he liked and there was blackness which he feared. In the next heartbeat there was an incredible burst of light and he found himself on the other side of the tunnel. What he saw next was the most perplexing sight of this new and memorable day!
Impaled upon three sticks were three heads that were regarding him with interest. The Traveler was a confusion of feelings that ranged from horror to outright fascination! One head was blue and looked like an elephant minus its ears. The other two heads were childlike and misshapen. Within his own mind, the Traveler heard the largest childlike head speak to him and it said, ” Welcome Traveler…we are the Oracle of the Sands of Time. Together we are the past, present, and future. All that you were before…you will be again…and more.
The Oracle then spoke in unison and told the Traveler that the Past, Present, and Future simultaneously coexist. They were appearing to him now to act as a guide to the life that had been given to him. Naturally, the Traveler was a bit confused since he was new to paradoxes! Then the larger head placed an image into the Traveler’s mind and said, “Do you remember that rope you saw today?…imagine a slightly different one more colorful and expanded. Now imagine it’s a model of the universe and everything in it.”
The Traveler then tried to grasp the idea that the universe is made of vibrating strings that phase in and out of time. Because there are differences in spacetime and your point of view changes depending on how you focus on a moment…the possibility of multiple “you’s” can exist in different dimensions in space and time. What you were before…you can be again…or not. Yes, it’s all rather confusing and the Traveler moved away from the Oracle and tried contemplating what he was just told.
What was he supposed to do with this knowledge? He then remembered the last thing the Oracle told him and it somewhat made sense. As long as he was fully present and open in each moment of his life…he would be fine. If he was having a bad day…somewhere in the universe those other “you’s” could be having better or worse days. In the big scheme of things…it just doesn’t matter. As the sun was setting in the west, the Traveler was able to face the sun with his shadow confidently following behind him. He decided that he would keep walking towards the light and treat each day like it was brand new.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
Do you think about these stories before you head out? Or do they just emerge when at the river after seeing what’s there?
Great question….I’ve wondered that myself. I suppose that on a subconscious level this stuff is already there…however, so much depends on what I find and make on site. I don’t look at the pictures until later and then I try to read something into them.
However it comes to you, you do a fantastic job.
Fantastic. Creative. Educational, Al. Chuckled about the oracle and went back to that imagery several times. The idea of heads on a stick…..why was I so intrigued? The elephant head did make me think of Ganesh, though.
Hi Leslie…glad you liked the story. I found those doll heads on that visit to the Falls and I think the elephant may have come from a pull toy. I needed them to be more than just heads on a stick and so they could come alive once again as the Oracle. I guess on some level there are archetypal elements working in this post.
Al, thank you for another wonderful adventure of the mind and heart along the river’s banks.. Don’t ever stop!
Eva…keep up the good fight yourself!
Nice story. I enjoyed it as usual. Creepy doll heads though 🙂
Thanks Rose…yes, I agree about the doll heads…I find so many of them out here and that seems weird too.
Again a genius creation Al, enjoyed it immensely!
Thank you D., you are too kind…I was surprised how this adventure turned out!
Yes – absolutely, me too – and it’s always very joyful to follow your stories.
Seriously, you need to write books full of the stories about the creatures you meet on the river bank.
I keep thinking why would anyone want to buy a book about what I do when it’s already free online through the blog? I guess I need to give this more thought! I hope all is good where ever you are!
I can give you 20 reasons right off the top of my head… the people I work with. They use a computer at work, but the one they have at home is only for email (that’s 18 of them). The other two play games and maybe pay bills. I talk about the blogs I read and even show them one from time to time, but they’re just not blog (or computer) people. Now, if they had a book to hold they’d read it from cover to cover (well, some would only look at the photos, but they’d still enjoy it). I keep thinking I should run out some copies of your posts so they can read at their leisure, but I haven’t done that yet. I don’t remember how I found your blog, but I’m so glad I did. It’s one of the cutest, most interesting blogs I’ve found. If you publish a book of your posts, I’d be first in line to buy a copy, but I’d still read your blog online, too. The best of both worlds. 🙂
Thanks for the considered response! I’m really a book person too and between my family and I…we probably are insulating our house with thousands of volumes. I like all the physical qualities of books and paper and I love most everything about the tradition. The blogging thing and using a computer daily has taken time to get used to. I think my generation evenly straddled the analog and digital divide. It’s surprising how little crossed over from one world to the other. What I do like about blogging is that it’s free and doesn’t take up much space or requires the dusting! I’ve experimented with showing some of my sculptures in art shows along with the published posts, but found people were either interested in one thing or the other, but rarely considered both activities as being integral to the whole which made me wonder if people would ultimately respond to a book? Thanks for being a reader of the riverblog…there really aren’t many of you out there,but the folks who follow seem to like it. For me, it’s been the best medium to express the experiences I have been having along the Ohio River.
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Just found your blog while searching for value to sell the barge cable I found on Paducah’s river bank Oct.4, 2017.. I love the creative characters you have created and joined together at the Falls..wish we had known about them then. Now I need to price the pieces of cable I brought home…
Hi Lois, thanks for your comment! I lived in Paducah during the mid 70’s and enjoyed the river there.