Cumberlandite
A Little About Rocks and Something About Time and Place
Cumberlandite is the official rock of Rhode Island, a random bit of information I learned. It isn’t impressive to look at, it is a dull color of black or blackish-grey. It isn’t worthy of interesting descriptive words; seemingly ordinary except for one fascinating fact, it is only found in one 400-acre spot in Cumberland, Rhode Island. It is found no where else in the whole world!
However, this story is not entirely about rock facts…
I was visiting a park in Cumberland one day and a rock caught my eye. It was white, pointy, with black iridescent flakes. Suddenly, I was hit by a random burst of information from deep within my memory, “This must be Cumberlandite!” I am no geologist and hardly ever think about rocks so this thought came from nowhere. The stone peaked my curiosity, and when I successfully identified it, I found it was not Cumberlandite. I was disappointed, but I learned interesting facts about Rhode Island’s state stone that I shared at the start of this story. I may add that Cumberlandite is also magnetic, and after learning these facts, I had become attracted to it as well as other rocks. I developed a strange sense of noticing certain rocks whenever I went to places, I have never been. I have since been collecting them for no reason other than keeping them as souvenirs for each specific time and place I encountered.
Before I go any further with this story, let me introduce myself. I am a recovering blocked artist. After taking many unsatisfactory paths and detours in life, I am here; trying to live as an artist. Pursuing art full time is difficult, not because of the stereotypical tortured starving artist reasons, but because it is DIFFERENT. It is an existence of many unknowns and constant doubt. It is an unquestionable desire to create but to be constantly attacked by an inner critic who tells you that you will never be good enough so why bother. Then there are the subtle or direct attacks from the outside world represented by teachers, family, friends, spouses, political parties, religious, hard-working folk, rich businesspeople; just about everyone, who constantly remind me that I’m not living in the “Real World”.
One day I was tending my landscape in front of my house. Suddenly the peaceful moment was disrupted by a sleeveless overweight middle-aged man driving a loud truck. To add to this intrusion, I noticed he was drinking a “snip” (a small alcoholic beverage) that he threw out of his window which landed in my beautiful garden. I LOST IT! I instantly saw the action as a metaphor for my whole existence. It was my Useless Art Life vs. The Real World! I cursed him violently before storming into the house where I questioned the persistent urgency of the world to always throw “shit” at my plans. “Maybe I was living in a dream world?” I considered giving up my ridiculous artful pursuit and begrudgingly accept defeat.
Instead, I went to Cumberland…
My rock research taught me the park I visit frequently happens to be in close proximity to the 400-acre lot of Cumberlandite. While I wandered around this unique place, I heard music and saw a person who did not fit the norm, and who was in every way opposite to the crude man I encountered earlier. They were making bubbles with a gigantic wand while playing “Stop Making Sense” by The Talking Heads from a boombox to an audience of NONE! It was like an episode of Twin Peaks, worthy of investigation because of the over-the-top surrealism. They explained they came to this place to do a “special” performance for pure enjoyment. They performed because they were meant to, because they loved to. There was no rational explanation for any of it, only the joy experienced in doing the irrational… I could have never imagined anything like this, it was as if the universe revealed the most bizarre event possible to wake me up. I came to the realization that it is all about enjoying the present moment and doing what I love no matter how irrational critics believe it to be. What I love is what I am meant to do!
All the rocks I have been collecting from unfamiliar places have encouraged me to take notice of each special time and place. Seemingly unimportant moments are really gems lining a path leading to treasure into the unknown, and Cumberlandite has become my loadstone! A loadstone has the power to attract as well as to be attracted; I think the humble rock of Rhode Island has represented well. Something unassumingly unimportant can have great value because it is only present in one place at one special time in the whole world, a unique performance for an audience of one…the one who wants to listen.
