Contusion

I didn't make an offering to the river, I tried to take from it. Now I have bruised ribs.

It was actually pretty funny. I had just dropped my son off at his grandparents' house, and I was trying to make the most of a beautiful day. So, I took my guitar into the forest and wandered until I found a beautiful fallen tree that had completely crossed the river. I passed by twice before realizing there was no obvious path, but after a small amount of hesitation I simply wandered directly through stinging nettle and perhaps poison ivy just to reach a clearing where I could climb on top of that beautiful log. That's just what I did, but I was in for a surprise. My guitar case got caught on a branch, and I toppled over to plummet into a very solid log below me. 

My guitar didn't get wet, and I saved everything. However, I smacked my side pretty good, and I was now quite stranded at that riverbend. I didn't know what else I could do, so I sat in the sun and dried off a bit while trying to catch my breath. My side was very painful, but I managed to laugh it off a bit. Suddenly I felt thankful for the day as well as the whole experience of being bested by a fallen tree. 

There was a lesson to be learned. Sometimes nature speaks loudly, and this experience has reminded me that we can't just take without giving back. Now I'm bruised and it's very uncomfortable to lay down, but I'm somehow very thankful this happened to me.