Found stones, was WANTED healling stones, rocks

January 28, 2008

skygreen <skygreen

One thing I love to do do which does not cost anything is to seek out

the " wild " stones. Look in the drive way and your yard if any, check

out

the local park. look down at the sidewalk. You might be amazed at

what you find

**************

I went to Baltimore, MD on vacation earlier this month and decided since I was

there to visit John Wilkes Booth's grave. Why? I hear you asking. Well, I had

read Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson (great

book) and it had led me to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham

Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin and that had led to American Brutus: John Wilkes

Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W Kauffman and The Emancipator's

Wife by Barbara Hanby and The Instrument of Darkness by Rusty Harding....well, I

think you get the picture. I'd been learning a lot about Lincoln and Booth and

their times, and I wanted to stand at Booth's grave and say, " John. WHAT were

you thinking? " So I did.

And what I got back from the question was, " I screwed up. I know it now. But I

can't undo what I did. " And all the bitterness and outrage that I had toward

this man washed away. And I stood there and cried. Fortunately, no one was

there but some big black crows who didn't seem to see anything out of order in

someone crying at the grave of the most infamous murderer in American history.

I cried for Lincoln and for Mary and for Tad and for all of the Booths,

including John, and for the grief that his undoable mistake caused and is still

causing to this day. And I forgave him, and asked God to do likewise.

I went back to my car and, just as I was about to get in, I looked down and

noticed a rock on the pavement. (Here's the on topic part.) It looked

different--smoother than a regular piece of stone. I picked it up and asked it

if it wanted to come home with me. It seemed amenable to the idea so I took it

along. I washed the dirt off of it when I got home and found it was some sort

of quartz--not clear quartz by any means, but translucent. So, it is now my

forgiveness stone and carries the power of that experience for me. I have a lot

of forgiving I need to do (and keep doing, it seems!) on a regular basis, so I'm

very glad it came into my life the way it did. Free--and more meaningful than

many I spent money for.

If anyone's interested, my photos of the Booth family tomb are here -->

http://picasaweb.google.com/Weimlady/variousstuff .

--Martha

January 28, 2008

Martha Kuhn wrote:

Not Only is that a really cool story and a great meeting with a st0one

Tour message arrived just I I was watching the end of the Ken Burns

Civil War TV Series and was thinking about John Wilkes Booth

> John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W Kauffman and The

Emancipator's Wife by Barbara Hanby and The Instrument of Darkness by Rusty

Harding....well, I think you get the picture. I'd been learning a lot about

Lincoln and Booth and their times, and I wanted to stand at Booth's grave and

say, " John. WHAT were you thinking? " So I did.

>

> And what I got back from the question was, " I screwed up. I know it now. But

I can't undo what I did. " And all the bitterness and outrage that I had toward