One of my boys’ favorite things to do when we’re out hiking is to find small pieces of sandstone and snap or crush them with their bare hands.
“Mom, see this rock?” they’ll say.
“Hah!” As they smush it to dust. 😅
So satisfying to feel strong enough to crush rocks into dust with your bare hands! It never gets old to them; they do it multiple times, every single trip (and I of course am always amazed 😉).
It seems silly, especially since we usually focus on how being out in nature teaches us about how small we are, but I think the ‘rock-crushing’ moments out there are equally important. When you figure out you ARE strong enough to hike that trail that tested you multiple times. Or you ARE strong enough to submerge yourself in a mountain lake. Or camp outside, or survive the blisters, or stomach an over-used National Park outhouse (can we agree they are the worst?), or whatever it is. Nature reminds us that we are small and young and part of something so, so, big; but also that we can do hard things.
Even if it’s just crushing rocks. (Or snapping, like above.)😊
