The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

  • Home
  • To Know
  • To Do
  • To Ponder
  • Obituaries
  • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • More
    • Share your story
    • Submit an Event
    • Contact

Letter: A Lesson From An Unknown Lake

January 24, 2021 By David Anderson

It didn’t look like much of a lake. In fact, if I had not looked up and through the trees and my tears, I might have missed it.

To reach its edge of this unknown lake, I had to make a trail.

On the shore of that unknown lake I drowned in my grief.

I sank back down into the hard memories of the past several years.

Photo by JM Simpson

That morning I needed to be alone, to get away, to sort things through, to not think.

To just walk.

With the collar of my jacket pulled up tight and zipped to my chin, shoulders hunched and head down against the cold, and my eyes only on the next step I had been trudging in anguished pain with labored breath and balled fists.

My heart, soul, and mind were drowning in the cold waves of anger and despair.

I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw hurt.

A profound revulsion at how it was possible my world could have shattered hammered through my being as the frozen mud on the trail crunched underfoot.

That’s when I found the lake.

Snow was forecasted, but for now the big pond’s far shoreline reflected the frozen, leafless, bare branches of trees and brush.

Like my hard and angry thoughts, the skeletal fingers of that far side appeared hard and angry.

The lake’s black surface reflected my black mood.

Repeatedly using the heel of my boot, I smashed and freed a large rock.

Defiantly I threw it as far as I could into the placid surface.

I wanted that peaceful lake to be as disturbed and troubled and hurt as I was.

Moments later, the ripples caused by the stone’s splash lapped the shore where I stood.

All returned to as it was.

In silence, the water-reflected crystallized brush and trees on the far shore became gloriously resplendent in the rays of the rising sun as it warmed the scene.

Peace and serenity and light filled the little lake with no name.

As they did me.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Comments

  1. Susanne Bacon says

    January 25, 2021 at 7:00 am

    There is nothing better than a walk all by oneself when one needs to come to term with one’s thoughts. Very obviously, it also inspired you to write …

    • David Anderson says

      January 25, 2021 at 4:39 pm

      Thank you Susanne. Occassional (daily?!) time alone and apart are essential for spiritual, emotional, mental – if not physical – well-being.

  2. Joseph Boyle says

    January 25, 2021 at 7:38 am

    David Anderson,

    The reason for your anguish is not included in your writing, and I am being critical for your having made that choice.

    Yet, what is readily included is the fact that your words form a beautiful story and a concept for all of us to consider as we trudge through our own individual circumstances of life.

    Thank you David for sharing your thoughtful and mentally stimulating words.

    Joseph Boyle

    • DAVID ANDERSON says

      January 25, 2021 at 10:26 am

      Thank you Joe. As I tossed this around I could not bring myself to identify the specifics behind the article. And, upon reflection, I thought it better – and your comments verify my decision – to leave unknown the reason for my personal grief such that readers would substitute their own struggles and, hopefully, come to the same conclusion. Blessings!

  3. Susan Rothwell says

    January 25, 2021 at 9:59 am

    Ripple in still water . .. .. find that song and listen to it.

    • DAVID ANDERSON says

      January 25, 2021 at 10:28 am

      I will Susan. Thank your for the recommendation. Good to hear from you again. Saw the other day Gertie’s is closing forever. I know you had already moved on but now sadder still an icon no more.

      • Susan Rothwell says

        January 26, 2021 at 9:04 am

        It’s like another death in the family. Time moves on. Que sera sera.
        But it is not pretty.
        Thanks for remembering us. We had a good gallop, didn’t we?

        • David Anderson says

          January 26, 2021 at 6:42 pm

          A good gallop indeed. 🙂

      • Susan Mayfield says

        January 28, 2021 at 6:41 am

        When is Gertie’s closing ?

        • Susan Rothwell says

          January 28, 2021 at 5:03 pm

          Hi,
          Gerties is closed now. We had leased it out but it didn’t work out like we hoped and then Covid didn’t help things. It’s like a death in the family for us all over again.
          I don’t see any way we can go back now and pick up the pieces for a second time.
          She will be missed. We had great years, tho.
          Sue

Top Stories

  • Permit filed for 22-unit multifamily development in Lakewood
    Permit filed for 22-unit multifamily development in Lakewood
  • Adult Life; Senior-ville
    Adult Life; Senior-ville
  • Check out Kvlt’s new home in one of Tacoma’s best eating neighborhoods
    Check out Kvlt’s new home in one of Tacoma’s best eating neighborhoods
  • Obituary Notices - February 24, 2021
    Obituary Notices - February 24, 2021
  • Obituary Notices - February 27, 2021
    Obituary Notices - February 27, 2021

Become a better informed citizen.

Join over 30,000 readers each month and get real-local news and information direct to your inbox, Monday-Saturday.


Recent Comments

  • Eric Chandler on Adult Life; Senior-ville
  • Eric Chandler on Choosing Our Words
  • Joan Campion on Choosing Our Words
  • Ben Sclair on Adult Life; Senior-ville
  • Jim kell on Adult Life; Senior-ville

Contact Us

The Suburban Times
P.O. Box 39099
Lakewood, WA 98496

Ben Sclair, Publisher
253-312-1804

Stephen Neufeld, Marketing Executive
stephen@thesubtimes.com

Copyright © 2021 The Suburban Times • Log in • Privacy Policy

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.