Acid rain falls to the exposed ground and is soaked in by the newly formed limestone. The acidic water trickles down into the cracks and slowly eats away at the relatively soft rock.
Over millions of years later, an eight mile cave forms.
I sit beside my seventy-one year old mom as we behold the product of such wonderful phenomena. We traveled 400 miles to visit our hometown-- to visit old landmarks, old friends, and family members from far way. Between visits with friends and family, we stopped to admire this amazing monument of nature.
As we sat there, my mom tells me about how she met my dad at this cave. Live music played during parties held at the cave entrance. A busy concession stand, popular hotel and swimming pool were once nearby. The mouth of the cave provided a naturally made dance floor. Yes, this cave was a happening place many decades ago! During one of these popular parties, my future dad asked my soon-mom-to-be for her phone number. She rattled it off, thinking he'd never remember it. Little did she know; he was very good with numbers.
I realize that I probably wouldn't exist if my parents had never met. So as I took all of this in, this cave somehow felt like my true birth place (as opposed to the hospital that was only a few miles away).
I also wondered what fossils were inside this cave. Were there any cave drawings? (I found out later that the cave does contain drawings and glyphs.) I wondered how the trees on top of the cave entrance stayed in place. Were the roots inside all of that rock? How did the trees and other vegetation survive being rooted in the shallow dirt resting on top of rock?
I wondered how many millions of years was represented by the exposed strata of limestone. The layers reminded me of the rings from a tree stump; these neat slabs of rock reveled the timelessness of Earth.
I placed my hand upon the rock and knew that I had touched millions of years.
I touched the passage of time.
_____
Something similar happened when I visited the church from my childhood. Youthful people that I watched as a child had now become elderly. Silver hair had replaced the once dark hair. Sunken cheek bones replaced the full, round youthful faces that I once remembered.
New faces from the upcoming generation were taking charge of the church now. The pastor of thirty years had passed away now. I was a little child when I watched him preach Sunday after Sunday. But he's gone now and another youthful face has come to fill his shoes.
An usher handed me a visitor's card when I sat down in the pew. But, I didn't know what to do with it. After all, I don't plan to come back-- I'm no longer religious. Also, the church is 400 miles away from where I currently live. This is just a vacation with my mom and son. Besides, I grew up at that church; I went there decades ago. I sat right there in that pew, about three decades ago-- Sunday after Sunday for years.
Then I look over at my mom to see if she wanted to fill out a visitor's card. She looks so different now. Not the same youthful woman that I sat beside when I was a little boy in church. Then I observe my own son sitting beside my mom as I once did.
After service, everyone (who remembered me) commented on how my son looked just like me. Just like when I was a child.
Then I realized that I was witnessing first hand the passage of time.
____
While in my hotel room, I decide to catch up on some reading. I brought some recent National Geographic issues with me on our trip. All of them featured something from the ancient past. I read the article about the Ice Baby that was found in superb condition. I caught up on the article about the Sicilian mummies preserved from only a few centuries ago. I looked at their faces with amazement. Some of them only have skulls for faces. Others look as though they are only asleep and could wake at any moment. Others look as though they are already turned into dust. Yet somehow, they still maintain human faces and hair on their heads. Their sunken cheeks look hauntingly familiar. They bare the cheek bones of my aging loved ones. I will have them too, should I live long enough to develop them.
When I took in all of these experiences, I wondered what happens to us after we die. Where do we go? What happens to our consciousness?
Looking back at aged and lost loved ones gives us a hint. Peering back into the passage of time at mummies, fossils, caves, and exposed limestone strata seems to give an answer that constantly haunts humanity.
Given enough time, we simply become one with this Earth.
Rather than be filled with glum, I grew eager to make the best of my life-- starting today.
I want to make sure my time here truly counts as the passage of time encompasses my life.
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