OK... I live in a house with only the road between us and a much
frequented stony beach. When people-watching on any day -- winter or
summer, I can almost guarantee 99% of youngsters and 90% men will pick
up stones and lob them into the sea. There is nothing to aim at,
because the buoys are too far out. So aimless throwing goes on... The
worst being at night when it can be loud enough to wake us up. Fewer
women throw for sure. They prefer gathering... shells, pretty stones,
etc.
This all starts at toddler age before any sort of mass conditioning
could have taken place and continues up to the day one can still bend
down to pick up a stone. We have lots of lovely flat stones on the
beach too, so "skimming" soon takes over from aimless chucking, with
the elders showing the youngsters how it is done.
Having lived on a large river (the Rhine) I would venture to say that
water has to be considered "static" or still to induce stone chucking
instincts. With moving water, one looks for items which will float to
throw in. Preferably one side of a bridge and then running to the
other side to see it reappear and speed on its way.
Which is all rather interesting. Does it mean we in the west are
prepared to sully still water but not running water? No one in the
middle east would dream throwing anything in an oasis or a well and
risk contaminating it, so why do we? Doesn't it show disrespect for
the water source in this day and age, even if it was not so in the
past?
Combined with the pot top phenomena** I have witnessed over many
years, it is my contention that there are responses we all
collectively programmed with:
still water + stones = throw
pot + lid = remove and replace**
button = push
nose = pick
It has little to do with spirituality IMHO.
**I work in a gallery where certain people will go around lifting
every single lid there is and then replacing it. Quite brainless
behaviour, but so common as to become a "phenomena" to my mind...
Janet Kaiser Home
Criccieth LL52 0EA : GB-Wales
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