Today
is the day to shine… to do the proverbial cannonball off the lighthouse.
Today
I will finally live up to my name.
Brook
What is
a brook? What does it mean to brook? Well for the answer to that let us turn to
good ol’ Merriam Webster.
brook
n. A small, natural stream, smaller than a river or creek, a rivulet.
Synonym
~ stream.
brook v.
To put up with; endure; tolerate:
usually with the negative.
Synonym~
endure.
To Endure is to suffer without yielding, to
bear pain, grief or injury, to withstand, to hold out, to last and continue to
be.
A Stream is a current or flow of water,
continuously flowing, moving or passing by; it has a continuous course or
advance; drift; current. It has a source or a ray.
A brook
is fed by a spring. It has a shallow rock lined bed. It is easy to cross or to
dam up. It provides a constant source of water to the environment around it,
bringing refreshment and nourishment. It is close to its source.
How does all of this
relate to me? Well grab a patch of grass and lay down along my refreshing
waters or a big comfy moss covered stone and gaze upon the pools of reflection as
I tell you a story, my story, the story of my name.
Imagine if you will a
spring bubbling up from the ground. Because of this source of water the surrounding
hills and valleys are green and teaming with lush vegetation. There are many flowers near by. Butterflies float in
the breeze flitting from flower to flower, vine to vine searching for the
perfect spot to lay their eggs.
Large shade trees spread their branches out
like they are opening their arms to the sky and soaking in the rays of the
sun. Their roots hungrily soak up the waters that my source, the spring, offers
them. Birds and chipmunks chirp and sing in the branches of the many trees that
line the banks.
There is much to
observe if you sit and look around.
For the weary
traveler this is the perfect place to sit and rest, to listen to the calming
sounds of the water rippling over the exposed stones in my shallow waters.
Crystal clear waters
show my vulnerabilities, my transparency. I don’t get angry when people throw
rocks at me, because it just adds to the stones that already line the basin of
my existence. It may sting the surface for a moment, but it will build me up
and make me stronger. Some day those stones will be useful to someone else.
I endure every twist
and turn in the landscape and even the occasional waterfall. These things that
look so scary when I am on the precipice of falling over are so beautiful to
behold from a distance. Through droughts my spring keeps me going. I never lose
hope. I know my hope, my spring, will not; can not ever run dry. In times of
flood and abundance my waters bubble over onto the shoreline. The waters become
muddied and confused by the mix of the world in the source of the spring. But,
when things calm down again, my focus is right back where it needs to be once
again.
I am a good listener,
and I’ll keep things to myself. I have deep pools of reflection and will help
you find the answers that you need. I have a wealth of knowledge from all the travelers
that have crossed my path before. Some of this knowledge is silly and nonsensical
and some of it is quite random, but on the rare occasion you may get the bits
that are life changing. I like to think of each stone as a random fact in my arsenal
of life. Some stones are big and some
are tiny little pebbles. There are some that are well worn and used quite frequently
and yet others that are rarely used and still have the jagged edges. Yet each
one of these stones has a purpose.
There is so much more
to a name, more than just the babbling Brook that I have tried my entire life
not to be. I don’t want to be that person primarily because I will get nervous
and start stuttering. If you know me, and know me well, you know my humorous
side. You know that I literally visualize everything people say. That I laugh
often and talk a lot! I can be a roaring waterfall that endures that twists and
turns of this life because I have a Spring
of Life that gives me the strength.
What does your name say about
you?
