A Reminder Carved in Stone

The Rock and The Water

I’m in Manali. Just got down from Solang Valley after a life-altering experience – physically exhausted, mentally blank. I wasn’t even looking for a seat in the bus. I just wanted to sit, close my eyes, and disappear into the rhythm of the road.

But the universe had other plans.

The bus halted near a river.
Our guide casually asked, “Anyone wants to step out?”

I had no intention of moving.
Yet somehow, my body did.
As if it knew something my mind didn’t.

Each step toward the river brought a little more life back into me. Soon, I was hopping from rock to rock like a child chasing a forgotten freedom. Then I saw it – the water.

And in the middle of it stood a rock. Still. Unmoving. Defiant.

A Silent Conversation

To touch the water, I climbed down a small ridge – difficult, especially with one hand and a tired body. But I did it anyway. I sat there, observing that single rock as water danced around it.

Suddenly, a question emerged:

Who wins?
The water, that adapts and reshapes everything it touches?
Or the rock, that stands rooted, unmoved by its flow?

The Rock – A Symbol of Purpose

The rock doesn’t move. It doesn’t yield.
It knows the water will outlast it – maybe in 10,000 years or even less. It will slowly wear away.

Still, it stands.

Not because it hopes to win, but because it chooses to be.
Its strength lies in its purpose.

The Water – A Symbol of Change

Meanwhile, the water never stops.
It doesn’t intend to win either.
It flows because that’s what it was meant to do.

Adaptable, resilient, unbothered by obstacles – it keeps moving forward.
In doing so, it reshapes everything it meets. Not out of defiance, but because that’s its nature.

So, Who Truly Wins?

Perhaps the rock wins by holding on.
Or the water by letting go.

Maybe both win.
Or perhaps winning was never the point.

After all, life isn’t always about choosing sides – sometimes, it’s about understanding both.
Because deep down, we are both.

We stand firm when life tests us.
We adapt when it pushes us.
We are the paradox.

And Me?

At that moment, I wasn’t the water. I wasn’t the rock.

I was the witness.
Quietly observing – learning – feeling a deep calm unfold within me.

Maybe that was my purpose in that moment:
To watch. To feel. To understand the unspoken poetry in front of me.

Or maybe it was all in my head.

Regardless, I walked back calmer.
And if that was the shared purpose of the rock and the water – they fulfilled it perfectly.

A Reminder Carved in Stone

Before leaving, I picked up a small piece of rock from the riverbank. It was oddly smooth, shaped by years of flow, and surprisingly beautiful.

Who knows – maybe once it stood tall, one of the biggest rocks blocking the river’s path.
Now, it had weathered into something softer. Gentler. But no less meaningful.

It now sits in my bag, a quiet souvenir of a grand thought.

A reminder that in the vast, relentless flow of life, we are all just fragments – tiny, fleeting, easily forgotten.
Yet in our personal world, our presence and purpose matter deeply.

And if I ever forget that, I’ll hold that little stone in my hand – 

and remember just how beautiful even a withered piece of something that has stood the test of time can be—smaller, gentler, but full of quiet strength.