I saw a cairn (Wikipedia writeup) on my run this morning and, of course, I bent down to find a rock to place on it. My running partner said, “Why’d you do that?”
“It’s a tradition. Irish, I think (later, I searched to find it is Scottish). People stack rocks to make cairns as trail markers, or to honor the graves of dead, or sometimes just for artistic expression.”
“Can anyone add to it?”
“Sure. In fact, it might be back luck (or bad karma) NOT to add to it.” This, I’m still searching for … is it spiritually “rude” to pass by a cairn without weighing in?
Interestingly, as I think about adding my own “two cents” to the cairn I remember that the shape of the structure was actually a scale of sorts. One large rock, in the center, held a piece of flat-wood/bark and on each end of the wood were balanced stones. Up from the center of this structure rose the cairn on top of which I placed my rock.
I wonder … did the mountain bikers leave this found art for us to enjoy? Was it the high school XC team? The dog walkers? We all share the same trails so it is important – maybe even holy – to participate in this ancient, communal ritual.
My friend carefully positioned her stone so the delicate balance would not be altered and announced, “I’ll never run by one again without adding a rock.”
Me either.
Cool, I have not seen one of those in a long while. Most of my running is around the town and we’re pretty well developed. I would definitely not pass one by without adding to it!
Is it cheating if you tell us where your cairn was? It would be fun to see how artistic the “Songs of Expeience” devotees could be. We could all say a little devotion for the next one who comes by. I’ve never seen one of these in my travels, but I’ll be sure to think of you when I do.