The Importance of Scattering Stones

Hmmm, do you need to scatter some stones today?

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

This scripture passage from Ecclesiastes has always been a favourite of mine. If It sounds familiar, it might be because it inspired the Simon & Garfunkel song Turn, Turn, Turn – a popular song that has been covered by other bands and artists along the way.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is believed to have been written by Solomon. In it, The Teacher  talks about his search for the key that unlocks the door to life’s meaning. Wherever he looks, it all seems utterly meaningless – like chasing the wind. Ultimately, The Teacher concludes that life is not a puzzle to be solved but rather a gift to be enjoyed even though there are some things we will never understand.

Whether you are a believer or not, this passage can give you a valuable perspective. It speaks to the continuous ups and downs of life and reassures us that bad times will be balanced by good times. It can be taken to heart to counsel us to have patience, to trust in the goodness of life and to guide us through those times when nothing seems to be going right.

This piece of wisdom is especially valuable in the uncertain times in which we find ourselves. Wars between countries that have been going on for years. New wars starting up. A narcissistic, megalomaniac in the White House. Extreme weather events. Growing numbers of homeless people living in encampments. Economic conditions that are ever in flux. The list goes on.

The most intriguing and hard to decipher line in the passage is: a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. Scholars present a number of possible sources for the phrase.

The Old Testament practice of a conquering army to throw stones on the enemy’s field to render it unproductive.Soldiers used slingshots to launch stones as weapons of war.The clearing of fields to cultivate them or the preparation of highways for the advance of victorious soldiers.

I prefer to interpret these stones as a metaphor for the things in our lives that have meaning at a given point in time but lose their purpose as life goes on. Precious things that we gather with reverence and hold dear but then outlive their usefulness and need to be released. It is difficult to release them but moving on with our life demands that we do.

So scatter some stones today. Your heart will be lighter for the effort.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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