pebble in the water

This is one of several visualizations offered by Reshad Feild at the end of his book which I just finished. I thought it was a great practice, simple and spacious, and wanted to share it. The last two sentences also expand into some wider mystery I don't fathom, but I like their drift. They seem to support what I get from various sources, and from the occasional gift of experience: if we can ever be truly present in the moment, we get free from time's weight, and also connected with all of its current, past-present-future, simultaneously.

"Close your eyes slowly and carefully, without withdrawing your senses from the outer world. Imagine that you are sitting by the side of a perfectly still lake. There is no wind to ruffle the surface of the water and everything is completely still and quiet. Chose a smooth, round pebble from the side of the lake. Feel it in your hands. Polish it with your fingers and your palms. Weigh it, know every portion of it. Become very fond of it.

The next thing you will be asked to do is to throw your pebble into the lake in such a way as to cause the least possible commotion. There should be scarcely the sound of a splash. Get yourself ready, poised and balanced. When the time is right, throw the pebble at the angle you choose, watch its flight as it arcs up and then down into the lake. Now sit quietly and follow the rings that emanate out from the centre until the lake is quite still again. You will see how they get wider and wider, yet the memory remains at the point where the pebble touched the water. The memory remains because you choose it to, otherwise it would be forgotten forever."

-- Reshad Feild, Here to Heal