Behind my house is a little river named the Rocky River. It is appropriately named, because during the summer months, especially, when it is low, there are many rocks in and alongside the river. I like living by this little river. When I go out on my deck, I could throw a rock into the river, so it is close. My baseball arm is not very good anymore, so that tells you how close to the house it is.
In fact, when we thought about buying this place, we were a little concerned that it might flood us. But we saw a hundred years study and plan and discovered there is almost no chance we could be flooded. I am ok with that level of risk. I did not grow up around water, so having it outside my back door was not a necessity. Sometimes I think I would like to live right next to the ocean, but maybe I would get tired of it. I do like my Rocky River.
It is a charming river. It is really not that big. But when it rains hard, it swells very quickly. If we have two or three days of rain, it flows so fast and makes it sounds, such it is like being at the ocean and hearing the crashing waves. And when the rain ceases, my little river quickly goes back to its normal level. It is like living with someone who quickly gets angry and then just ask quickly gets over it.
As I thought about my little river, my mind drifted to the spiritual literature I have read and the religious traditions I know all have used the image of river to talk about life. For example, two of my favorite contemporary authors popped into my mind. Annie Dillard and Richard Rohr both use the river as a metaphor to talk about life and various aspects of our life. Annie Dillard’s favorite book of mine, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, already suggests in her title how she plans to employ the image of river---or creek---to ponder life and its meaning.
In Dillard’s work, the creek symbolizes life lived over time. The creek is a great image for time. The creek or river moves along. If you toss a feather in the river, it moves on. One minute it might be right in front of you and a few minutes later, it has floated on down the river. And so it is with our lives. Our days float us down our river, which is life. Once we decide on using river as a metaphor, we get all that comes with what a river teaches and means.
For example, we can ask questions, such as where does the river begin? And maybe even more importantly, where does it end. Some Christians would assume the rivers of our lives flow into the eternal presence of God. Quaker founder, George Fox, even talks about the ocean of light and love. I always thought that was a wonderful way to describe the beginning and end of our lives. It is the source and resource of who we are. If that’s where I am heading, flow on!
In his book, Everything Belongs, Rohr uses the image of river again to talk about life. Once when I was teaching a class that used that book, I drew my version of a river and asked students to use the image to talk about their lives. What they did with it was fascinating. The put rapids in their rivers to indicate the tough times in their lives. Rapids obviously imply tricky, difficult places. If we have to traverse a river, the rapids pose some real problems.
Rohr is very clear that the image of river helps him to understand our relationship with God is like being in the river. We don’t decide whether to get in the river or not; we’re already there. In that sense, we already are part of the flow. We are being carried along. Our only choice is whether we want to become aware of that and “go with the flow” in a spiritual sense. For Rohr and for me, that suggests we will learn to be more aware, more appreciative and cooperative with God’s intentions. If we are already in God’s presence, then we don’t have to worry about finding God, etc.
We can do more with the river image. If you were also to draw a river to represent your life, think about the times you were fearful. How would you draw fear into your river? Some students drew fear as a narrowing of the river. In fear their river constricted. The water had more difficulty moving through the narrowing of the river, hence, it tended to speed up. Again, this makes the river trickier in these places.
My little Rocky River flows rather slowly. I would not call it lazy, so much as deliberate. In many ways I believe a deliberate life has the best chance of being a rich, spiritual life. A fast river---and fast life---tends to move so quickly, it is difficult to fully enjoy the flow of the thing. Likewise, a life lived too fast-paced tends to be a life that might be superficial. It does not have time to enjoy the process of living. When the pace is too fast, it is hard to be attentive and to appreciate the nuances of one’s life.
I appreciate my little river. I can sit in my chair and see it. It is as if I have a meaningful symbol right outside my window. When I forget or become distracted, I can look out and be reminded. There is my life. It is moving. Am I fully participating and enjoying the process? If I am attentive, I can see upcoming rapids and can sense the constrictive places where I need to be more careful.
I am grateful for my Rocky River.
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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