Kip’s Comments - October 15, 2025
The Face in My Mirror
As I quietly paddled my canoe yesterday on the Wapsipinicon River, appreciating what autumn colors I could find, a sizable fractured rock caught my attention. A couple of gentle paddle strokes moved me close enough to the shore to study the rock in the process of breaking to pieces.
Soon after pressing the shutter release button on my Nikon comparative thoughts of my life and the fractured rock entered my mind.
Fractured Rock - Image 1034311
Like the rock along the river has changed, have you noticed how the face in your mirror is changing? Perhaps a wrinkle or two (maybe more) have etched their way onto once smooth skin. Strands of silver (maybe a complete head of gray) replace younger colors from our youth. There is no hiding the process of maturing – the face in my mirror shows it.
I likened the face in my mirror to the rock breaking apart along the river. Season after season of joys and sorrows – sunny days and frigid nights – have challenged the rock and me. With each day of survival (or experiences) the luster on the rock has changed. Moss has established itself in places. Tiny cracks have grown and the once solid rock is now weak – even breaking at times. At the same time I have grown as a person – matured emotionally, added a skin crease or two, and turned gray. Like a weathering rock I am still strong, yet often I am less of what I used to be. I am witnessing the maturing of the face in my mirror.
Change will continue as time challenges me and the rock. Already the elements are breaking down the rock. What once was large and solid is now many smaller parts – a boulder puzzle of sorts – spreading its effects along the edge of a mostly quiet river. Even as a lesser rock, the boulder brings stability and protection to the fragile shoreline. I am hopeful I too, as my circle of life inches toward closure, that I am sharing with those around me - making the world a better place. Like a boulder aging along the river, in some small way may the face in my mirror bring stability to the world around me one person, one day, or one opportunity at a time.
