Hill

“Hill…it is a hasty word for a thing that has stood here ever since this part of the wood was made.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

What a fickle thing are words. They can convey meaning so specific and precise and yet so full of possibility and understatement.

Hill.

Four characters. Three letters. One syllable. Little cause for excitement. Yet see how a slight exploration can bring an entirely new understanding. A hill is, by definition, an elevated mound of earth, plain and simple, but it is so much more than that. It does not breath, but it has a life of its own. A single hill is as timeless as the ocean. Formed and molded by the hands of God thousands of years before I drew my first breath. It has weathered storms beyond number and set its face upon more sunrises than I shall ever comprehend. It has been climbed by lonely vagabonds and entire tribes. It has fed single caterpillars and herds of cattle. It has felt the harshness of winter more deeply than I can ever know and has sung the songs of spring with more grandeur than my small voice can muster. And on it shall continue to stand and sing long after I have faded away beneath its grassy soil. Every dip and every fold was fashioned carefully by its glorious Creator before the first fall of dew, and there, tucked away between hundreds of other hills, that hill will proudly stand and raise blade and blossom in praise to the almighty King of Heaven until the last sunset. Indeed, what a hasty word for something so grand.

Winnie the Pooh and Friends

I have come to the conclusion that the television show phenomenon of having one best friend is false. Friends come in chains. Friendship is give-and-take when it comes to support offered and received, and as I lend support to one friend, there is always another behind me to keep me propped up.

Imagine a Winnie the Pooh scenario, if you will. ‘Tis a blustery day in the Hundred Acre Wood, and Tigger is foolishly carrying an open umbrella. Well, of course a healthy gust of wind must come along and catch the umbrella and carry him along in the direction of a precarious cliff. Now, Winnie the Pooh has just removed his head from a honey-filled tree hollow and observes Tigger’s plight just in time to grab Tigger’s feet as he blows by. Tigger is slowed considerably by Pooh’s efforts, but the two friends are still being helplessly dragged toward the cliff. Meanwhile, Piglet is gathering acorns from beneath a nearby tree when he sees the commotion coming his way. He tosses aside his acorns and grabs Pooh Bear’s flat feet just in time to prevent the flustered duo from being swept over the cliff.

Now, this could lead to a lesson about Piglet’s heroic act in  a David and Goliath situation, proving that he was braver than he believed and stronger than he seemed, but Pooh Bear physics aside, it demonstrates that while two are indeed better than one,  a three-chord strand is not easily broken (nor is a three-animal chain easily blown away). And so it is that close friends are rarely lonely duos but rather groups that travel either in chains or clusters, willing to leave behind prized honey and acorns to help a friend.