On Friday I was making my way on my regular walking route near the bluffs along the Mississippi River. As I crossed the High Bridge I noticed a young man in city working attire unloading and setting up a tripod that stood about six feet tall. At the top of the three legs stood what looked like a small flying saucer. I was curious but walked on down the hill letting the beauty of the St. Paul skyline, resplendent from the glow of the Cathedral, hold my attention. At the bottom of the hill I tapped the streetlight pole in usual fashion and headed back up toward the young man who sat texting on his phone.

My curiosity had now gotten the better of me. "What does it do?" I asked. He looked up. I could tell he was a little bored with his work. "It measures any movement that has happened. It checks for cracks that might cause trouble later."

I am still not sure if it was measuring the possible cracks in the bridge to which it was pointed or the earth in which the bridge is anchored. But I loved the idea that someone had created something no larger than a dinner plate that can measure such important things…….cracks that might cause trouble later. As I walked on I thought about how wonderful it would be if we each had a little invisible flying saucer following us, much like that bowl of Cream of Wheat used to in commercials, that could let us know that the earth around us was on the verge of splintering. Wouldn't it be a fine thing if we had a heads-up that what we thought was solid ground, indeed, had some cracks emerging and we could plan accordingly?

Of course there is no such thing. But it was a fine thought to spin out as I walked on up the hill and back toward home, thankful that, at least for now, the ground seems pretty solid.

"May my feet rest firmly on the ground. May my head touch the sky. May I see clearly. May I have the capacity to listen. May I be free to touch. May my words be true. May my heart and mind be open. May my hands be empty to fill the need. May my arms be open to others. May my gifts be revealed to me. So I may return that which has been given, completing the great circle." The Terma Collective