Stone Bridge and creek

The stone bridge and creek at the back of the lake is one of my favorite spots on campus. Around the lake, this is the place where water has the most action. It is busy, hurried, and most determined—I have a place to go and I am going. The stone bridge, on the other hand, is not going anywhere. The trails around the lake have been cleared and paved a few times since I came to Furman. The stone bridge has never been rebuilt, at least not that I could remember. It is just there, having nowhere else to go and nothing else to be.

A lovely contrast, isn’t it? I wonder how often I journey through life like water, driven by the purpose not yet fulfilled. I stride forward with might and determination, and I never look back. I wonder how often I journey through life like the stone bridge, quietly reflecting the past and witnessing the present, so as to extract wisdom and discern meaning, and then keep it all to myself.

How about you? Is there a period in your life (or an aspect of your current life) where you moved like water, swiftly with determination? What is the life purpose that propels you forward? Is the purpose reachable, like a degree or a promotion? Is it an unreachable goal, one that keeps you moving, like social justice or spiritual enlightenment? Is there a period in your life (or an aspect of your current life) that you contemplate with reflective intention like the stone bridge? What is the meaning that you have extracted from the past? What are the words that are passed down from your past self to your current self?

As I linger around, I see the immobility that is of the water and the movement that is of the stone bridge. The water has smoothed the rocks and nourished the vegetation. It sang with the rain and danced with the sun. It left behind lasting impacts and memorable impressions. The stone bridge has supported all sorts of actions—walking, running, cycling, jumping. How many Furman students, or Furman Presidents, has it carried and bridged?

I wonder whether I am wrong thinking that the moment I leave this place, like the water, I will be forgotten, and that my silent presence, like the stone bridge, has never supported anyone to move forward with a little ease. Maybe, just maybe, like the water, I did leave behind some impacts that are not quantifiable or noticeable, but undeniable, and like the stone bridge, I did support movements that were not mine to initiate but to help accomplish. How about you? Is there anything you have done, or will do, that is invisible but essential, that is thankless, but critical? Anything that is yours to do but not yours to claim?

I move on as the water keeps flowing and the stone bridge keeps contemplating, so should you. It is a lovely campus that constantly invites us to move forward toward our purpose and to reflect inward for the meaning that has been enriched through time.

Questions for Reflection:

• Is there a period in your life (or an aspect of your current life) where you moved like water, swiftly with determination?
• What is the life purpose that propels you forward? Is the purpose reachable, like a degree or a promotion? Is it an unreachable goal, one that keeps you moving, like social justice or spiritual enlightenment?
• Is there a period in your life (or an aspect of your current life) that you contemplate with reflective intention like the stone bridge?
• What is the meaning that you have extracted from the past? What are the words that are passed down from your past self to your current self?
• Is there anything you have done, or will do, that is invisible but essential; that is thankless, but critical? Anything that is yours to do but not yours to claim?

Contributor Statement:

Min-Ken Liao joined Furman in 2000 and is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biology. In addition to teaching microbiology and genetics related courses and researching the anthropogenic impacts on bacterial communities in urban stream environments, she also teaches mindfulness and yoga. Left her to her own devices, she would probably be on a stone bridge all day.