Do you see the Geodes?

I already made a comment at the “The New 12th Gate” about this on 7villages, but I also feel I need to make a post. I must say that I did not listen to the items presented there, but I did search out and find some lyrics by the contemporary folk singer, Carrie Newcomer. The liner notes about the song “Geode” (see page 3) spoke to me. I repeat them here…

“My home in Southern Indiana is a rolling green land abundant in limestone and the mysterious rocks called geodes. Geodes are so copious in this part of the state that we pile them in our gardens and think of them as commonplace. I am fascinated with these unassuming brown and grey stones that contain inside them a sparkling center of quartz crystals. They are surprising beautiful and a wonderful metaphor. They remind me to look deeper, because often within what may appear quite ordinary is a core of beauty and mystery. Sometimes I will take visiting friends on muddy walks along the hills and hollows of my home pointing out the creek beds full of geodes. Often they confess that if I hadn’t pointed out these unadorned stones their presence would have been missed entirely. But once familiar with the signature lumpy look of geodes these friends begin to see the stones everywhere. This is how paying attention works. At first I have to look quite deliberately to find the sparkling center of things, but eventually I begin to notice the patterns and come to expect the unexpected.”

How often to we look for the “geodes”? Geodes can be people. They can be Bible passages. They can be the sermon you heard Sunday. These plain, vanilla looking things can be a wonderful delight if one takes the time to see what is hiding under the surface. Do you see the Geodes?