Stones in My Way

Written by Sr. Rúbia Maria Almeida – Belém Province
Photo from Quixadá City -- CE

I live in Quixadá, a little city in the Northeast of Brazil, in the heart of Sertão, in the state of Ceará – a very typical city. Here, the sun is very intense almost the entire year round. The streets of small trade are always full of people, cars, motorcycles, bikes and donkey carts; it’s very noisy. This is the daily life of the city.

But, there is something very singular about this distant place – the stones. The city is surrounded by gigantic stones. When I look at their surfaces, I believe in the words of people older than the city; they say that millions of years ago this place was a sea.

I often contemplate the stones and easily see shapes of distorted faces and animals – they have beauty and mystery.

In this region of Brazil, there is a shortage of water. During many months of the year, the landscape is gray, without green. So, during this period, the stones hold the greatest beauty of the region. But for sure, when the rain comes and green arises, the landscape fascinates -- there is harmony between the green, the blue sky and the stones. I adore these stones.

There are stones in my way, and they have a voice inside me.