TIME at THE GRAND CANYON

 

 

In the midst of this arid northern Arizona high desert 8000 feet above sea level, Marnie and I sat on the edge of the Grand Canyon, fighting back waves of vertigo and looking in awe at nature’s panoramic majesty before us. From our perch on the South Rim, we could see but a slice of this natural marvel that is over 200 miles in length and 4-18 miles wide. Almost a vertical mile below us could be seen the winding Colorado River, still cutting its path through the granite roots of an ancient mountain range which once, long ago, had been far higher than the present Rockies. That ancient range, originally pushed up following collision of tectonic plates (similar to the present Himalayas) had been eroded down to become a level plain over the past 1 ½ billion years, and it is upon this granite base that the Colorado now sculpts.

 

This whole plateau area of Arizona during the ages had been repeatedly under the ocean, as reflected in the many strata of limestone, shale and sandstone that had been laid over the eroded granite as the shores of the ocean had advanced and receded several times. Once again northern Arizona has uplifted over recent millennia, and the existing river, which came into existence only within the past few million years, simply cut its way through the softer upper strata as the plateau rose. Looking across the Canyon to the north side, we could see - as in a geological ‘book of ages’ - several of these sedimentary strata within which are imbedded the fossils of various mollusks, fish, corals and plants which once lived in the sea.

 

To the right and far below along a narrow path etched into the side of the Canyon, we could see a train of sure footed mules conveying adventurous souls from the rim down to the river level; one misstep by a burdened mule and - - - we inched back from the rim a little just thinking about it.

 

Again our focus went back to the multi-hued strata of the canyon walls – the mind-burden of perceived time displayed before us certainly instilled humility, a sense of insignificance, almost futility. Time. So much time; time in which life’s forms had come into being, struggled and expired. And now for this brief ‘second’ in the stream of time, it was our turn - we two were amongst the living – yet by what process and for what purpose? On nature’s time-screen before us, the mysteries of life, time and meaning pushed heavily in upon us.

 

 

While yet in this introspective state, off to the left we noticed a large hawk, arising out of the Canyon upon the warm thermals from below. Soaring, circling in effortless grace. In our introspective, near meditative state, it seemed as though the questions posed by our encounter with the Canyon were being answered by one of its own creatures: It was as though the hawk spoke to us from a deep Canyon within ourselves:

 

“Oh fellow travelers, I too have wondered about the meaning of life, and of time. I too love life, and am apprehensive concerning the day of her loss, as are all her creatures. And despite the apparent difference in form between thee and I, we greatly resemble each other in our structure – even the bones of your arms and fingers have their counterparts in my own marvelous wings and pinions. My blood contains the same percentage of salt as does yours, a carryover from our primal existence in the sea. My species – similar to yours – can only continue its existence if its members have the capacities of self-replication and of adaptation – that is to say we creatures respectively must have powers of procreation and of learning, so that we may evolve and change as necessary through successive generations.

 

“Yes, human friends, in the past I also have felt myself to be a prisoner of time or ‘chased by the arrow of time which waits for no one’ – and then one day whilst in flight I realized that I am life herself – the ‘Great Hawk’ - the archetype of my species – soaring upon the thermals of time constant; a time which itself is immovable but yet is ever-present as the ground of existence. In that moment, I sensed that all of my forebears ‘existed’ within me now, as well as all future generations. I am my species – and all that my species strove through so as to be here is now in myself; All of my species’ learning is within me as what you humans call instinct, to help me continue my flight through the time medium.

 

“Life herself lives through me as the Great Hawk; I am but a vehicle in life’s own experiment. Life gives herself to each of her creatures - and again life removes herself when the vehicle has served her purpose. Life herself evolves through her agents – but yet life is not mindless of her suffering creatures - She shares her grand experiment with each of us, and each of us feels deeply that it is OUR personal life, a precious gift to be safeguarded; and that each of us is most important in life’s grand scheme. And for each successive member of all species, this eternal now of time continues.

 

“Granted, time appears to accumulate as we scroll our discrete memories, yet all our memories are dynamic, constantly being created anew in the light of our ongoing experiences, and accessible to us for processing only in the constant now. Whilst in flight, the aging brain of our mortal aspect senses our bodies aging; we note first the weakening of our memories (so seemingly essential, yet realistically only time-bound to us personally for this particular trip); eventually our vehicles will deteriorate, fading into the constant now of the time medium. I assure you though, my human friends, that time itself has never changed – it is but the medium through which all of life’s creatures individually exist in the moment, and collectively in eternity.

 

“And it follows that – since you two are here now, in a sense you have always existed, and though your mortal vehicles wear out in the service of life, she will provide you with another, and another, and another, and thereby you shall always exist --- it is but life’s way, and you - as her precious agents - will continue to soar on the thermals of this constant now”.

 

Marnie and I watched as the hawk called, wheeled and departed on a thermal to the far side of the Canyon. Turning to each other, we knew without words that we had both ‘heard’ the Great Hawk’s message; our earlier feelings of insignificance and futility concerning time were gone, leaving in place a much deeper humility and abiding sense of wonder and awe.

 

 

Keith and Marnie Elliott’s “REMEDY” Site

 

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