My theme for today's post suggested itself before I had walked very far this morning. I try to set out each day with eyes and heart and mind open to the world and whatever it may have to show me, and today it flashed me a peace sign. Of course, I had seen this striking and lovingly crafted symbol before while out walking the island--the house it adorns is literally a stone's throw from my own. And yet, I had never noticed the small white dove perched atop the peace sign until examining the photo just this moment. The symbol is interwoven with small lights which are illuminated in the evenings--not every evening, but some. I'm charmed by the fact that the symbol is crafted out of pliable tree limbs, and like to think that these limbs were taken from trees growing on the island, as though the value of peace and the symbol representing it had been spontaneously generated by the island itself. The house is one of only 22 on the island, and I look forward to someday meeting the person or persons who live in it. Somehow I think we just might hit it off.Because, after all, it is only a certain type of person who would elect to live on an island. It seems to me that such people might be characterized by a desire for solitude, privacy and peace--and all the other concepts virtually synonymous with peace: tranquility, serenity, calmness, quietude, and the like. I suspect that a fair number of the island's inhabitants are, like myself, drawn to creative pursuits, such as music, writing, art, which require a fair degree of solitude in which to flourish. I suspect they are also drawn to a more simplistic lifestyle than our capitalistic 21st century American culture would have us believe we need. For example, yesterday I baked my own bread and took great pleasure in so doing--a simple pleasure, but a rich one. So it was that as I continued my morning constitutional, I did so with the idea of Peace in mind, and all that notion connotes, so that I was open to whatever the island might have to tell me on that subject.
Here's the first sight that struck me as a peaceful one: a couple of the island's feathered denizens diving for food. Or maybe they were just camera shy. The moment before I pulled out my camera, they were gliding peacefully along the surface of the river. Oh well, I guess I can't blame them; I don't like being disturbed either when I'm doing my own thing, even if it's just enjoying a moment of peace.
Here is an interesting sculpture that I pass every morning, but this time I thought I should take a closer look. For some reason, I thought it might have something to do with the concept of peace. As it turned out, this was indeed the case. This little baby is called the 'Bell of Two Friends' and was a gift to the City of Minneapolis from the Mayor of the City of Ibaraki in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, intended to symbolize the everlasting bonds
of friendship between the two cities. Seventy-four feet in front of the sculpture stands the rock you see in the picture at left. On this rock is the legend explaining how and why the sculpture came to be here. I am including a larger picture so you can more easily read the text on the plaque. As you can see, visitors are invited to pass (carefully) through the sculpture, and while doing so, to ring the bronze bell in the top of the arch, for which there is a dangling pull cord. In doing so, your gesture will signify a prayer for world PEACE and continued friendship between the citizens of Ibaraki and Minneapolis.
Since, as the plaque relates, the year 1980 marked the 20th year of friendship between the two cities, we can easily calculate that the friendship is now in its 32nd year. If only all cities around the globe would regard other cities as their brother or sister cities, and make similar gestures of peace and friendship. What a wonderful world it would be!Do you think I passed through the sculpture and rang the bell? How could I resist? I reached up to grab the cord, and while ducking underneath the arch, yanked it from side to side, unleashing a pleasant clangy resonance, a sort of miniaturized version of the mighty clanging that begins whenever a train is about to pass through the island. Having done so, I felt that I'd done my bit for world peace for the day, and felt rather vindicated in the theme I'd chosen to embrace for today's blog post.
The sculpture represents a dotaku bell, a type of bell found in Ibaraki and dating to the Yayoi period of Japanese history, approximately 2,000 years ago. But you can read this yourself on the plaque which is fastened to the rear side of the sculpture and shown in the photo at left. As you may be able to see, even though I did not include all of it in my photo, there is a Braille version of the explanation at the bottom of the plaque for the visually impaired. It was a pleasure to become better acquainted with this symbol of peace and friendship this morning, and I continued on my way with a light heart and a peaceful spirit.
At the southern tip of the island, which as you may have noticed, is one of my favorite spots, I went down to the shore and sat a spell to enjoy the scenery. It was a peaceful place and time, so I decided to send out my own little peace symbol. A nearby fallen tree trunk, much like the one I'm sitting on, was kind enough to hold the camera while I posed, although the sun's blinding glare refused to allow me to do so with open eyes.Which brings me to the final object for consideration along my morning stroll. It stands in roughly the same longitudinal location as the dotaku bell, but on the east rather than the west side of the island. The item of which I speak is, simply put, a totem pole.
According to information carved into one side of the totem, it was erected in 1975 by the Viking Council. I happen to know, from my days of raising young boys, that the Viking Council is part of the Boy Scouts of America. The totem actually consists of three poles, all grouped around and lashed to a central pole, which merely appears to be a regular old-fashioned telephone pole. This is one of those things that you can walk past every day and never really notice--it just sort of blends in with its surroundings. For those who don't pay much attention to football, Vikings are sort of a big deal in Minnesota due to the state's Scandinavian heritage, hence the Viking Council.
Here is a more close-up detail of the impressive totemic carvings on the poles. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is intended to represent a Viking. From what I understand, the meanings of the designs on totem poles can be as varied as the cultures that make them. So, while this totem is clearly intended as a tribute to the Scandanavian heritage of Minnesota, I am going to declare it to be a totem of peace as well. After all, Vikings were peaceful dudes, weren't they? Well, hmmm ... Wikipedia tells me that the image of wild-haired, dirty savages sometimes associated with the Vikings in popular culture is a distorted picture of reality--and that's good enough for me.All throughout history, human beings have been known to coexist in peace and harmony for long periods of time. And yet, often the peace is suddenly shattered by violence--conflicts arise, wars are fought, blood is spilled, and eventually peace returns. It is a predictable and recurring cycle as old as humanity, which shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. Knowing this, I should not have been surprised to complete my peaceful meditations this morning only to encounter conflict in my own home. When you live with another person, or persons, conflict is inevitable, and there will always be a need for patience, empathy and compromise. Thus it is that my voyage of exploration and discovery in living on Nicollet Island consists not merely in gallivanting about the island and indulging in solitary, creative pursuits, communing with nature and observing the river, but also in learning to live harmoniously with another person in a 600-sq. ft. living space. I have lived with this person for 28 years, so both of us have learned a lot. But as the shattering of my peaceful meditations of the morning by the demands of domestic give-and-take goes to show, effort will always be required, conflicts will always arise, and peace will reign only as a result of mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation.
And so, to my lovely companion, with whom I have finally--after this long day of battle--successfully brokered a blessed and hard-won peace, I offer up again this song written for her as a Christmas gift--a song celebrating both our past, and the present we have been enjoying here on Nicollet Island. (I thought I'd better post it now, before we get too far away from Christmas, and to help grease the wheels of Peace.)
Gold Medal Christmas: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_11490851
And here is a tune to which the title of this post alludes, written and performed by a guy who does a much better job with music than I ever could: http://youtu.be/jAmPfEMI16g
Life flows on, in and around us--sometimes peacefully, other times not.
D.E.S.
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