We are delighted with the response to the Peaceful Pockets of Paradise initiative so far. Karen Hirst, a regular Millstone reader and contributor, has eagerly accepted our invitation to write about her pocket of paradise. Enjoy!
– Theresa Peluso
Cleansing Power of the Mighty Mississippi
by Karen Hirst
Like pulp from its rind, my mind is unconsciously scooped clean of any thoughts and knows only peace and being cleansed when I find myself close to the powerful movements and sounds of the Mississippi River pushing forward over cascading tiers of rocks and falling deep into the hollows of the river bed.
Stand on Almonte’s Riverwalk just below the railway trestle and look down into what the Almonte boys used to call the “Bubble Bath” or get close to either of the larger falls, one at the bottom of Mill Street or one running along side the Millfall Condos. The power and force of the water hurling uncontrollably down, down, down, creates a roar that wipes the slate of your mind clean. No thoughts of yesterday or tomorrow can squeeze into the spaces filled with its energizing power.
Here I find myself one with the river, absorbed into its action, its swirl and churning suds, its reaching mists of cool refreshment… conscious only in the moment. The mind knows its own silence in these moments, there is a peace, a hypnotic need to remain with the river in this special place for just a little while longer… one of nature’s sanctuaries.
