Layers of the Quiet Earth

I spent this morning trying to organize my bookshelf, pulling out old journals I haven’t touched in years. I found a pressed leaf tucked into a page from a summer I barely remember. It was brittle and thin, yet it held the shape of the tree it once belonged to perfectly. It made me think about how much we carry beneath the surface of our own lives. We go through days that feel like a blur, but underneath, there are layers of experience stacking up, one on top of the other. Some are smooth, some are jagged, and some are worn down by the things we have had to endure. We are like the ground itself, shaped by the storms that pass over us and the quiet time that follows. We don’t always see the history etched into our own skin, but it is there, waiting to be noticed. What parts of your own history do you think are still waiting to be uncovered?

Tisha Clinkenbeard has captured this beautiful image titled Beavers Bend State Park Shale Rock. It feels like a map of all those hidden layers I was thinking about today. Does this image make you feel like you are looking at the past?