Rock On

My cousin C and her boyfriend broke up last weekend. At first, she was obviously less than thrilled. Duh. The break-up, although not entirely unexpected (the relationship had begun unraveling weeks earlier and had pushed her to a level of crazy logic that usually heralds the inevitable end of a relationship), was, for lack of a better word, dramatic. I'm talking soap opera, reality TV, Oh, no he di'nt!

I know, I know -quelle surprise, right? It's not like crazy isn't indelibly encoded in our DNA. But it went down, and it was not pretty.

My cousin C is all things bright and beautiful, but this break-up left her bereft. This break-up was no bueno. And, honestly? I'm just going to say it. This relationship and this boy had dulled her shine.

So last night when C invited me over, I was totally prepared for damage control. But after an hour of spinning (which is really a one hour wait to sign up for the class PLUS the one hour class), I seriously considered bailing. Our cousin K was already there, it was the middle of the week, I had to work in the morning, and I was really looking forward to a relaxing evening of watching America's Next Top Model with my dogs.

Oh, and washing my hair. I was looking a little, shall we say, meth-headish. But really. Could I even say no? Well, I could theoretically. But I didn't stand a chance. Especially in light of all this break-up business.

So I went home, showered (I did not wash my hair, thereby giving myself a gross Robert Palmer video lady slicked back ponytail), ate dinner, and hightailed it to C's apartment. Oh, did I forget to mention? She lives half an hour away. On the beach. Where parking is a bitch (I drove around for 45 minutes on Sunday looking for a spot).

The plan was to discuss the break-up, have a couple of glasses of wine, make brownies, and have a rock ceremony at the beach during the full moon.

WHOA!

WHAT?

A rock ceremony?

That's right. A rock ceremony Where all the rules are made up. By C. Or any of us. As we went along.


Um. Okay.

After our cousin M arrived, we collected our rocks (rose quartz is the only rock name that I remember -mine was a mood stability rock and looks like the one pictured except for the heart shape) and walked down to the beach. The night was really beautiful. The moon was right smack in front of C's apartment building.

K, M, and I were nervous about this whole rock business. I, especially, was less than enthused about my emotional stability rock. I was already relatively emotional stable (The LeDouchetards have not been up my ass for 10 days!). Wasn't there a win the lottery rock? Or a new job where I'm fulfilled and not emotionally terrorized rock? Or a let's get this cookie impregnated pronto preferably with twins rock?

But C told me the rock was just a symbol. I was to think of it as a reminder of what I wanted. And as we washed our rocks in the ocean, I thought about all the things I wanted.

And, jeez, cookies. It was a long list. Want, want, want,want, want, want, want.

Why could I never just be happy with what I had? I have a lot of good stuff. And that's what I really wanted. To be truly happy and content (this Lent thing must be working deeper than I thought).

This is what I was thinking as we sat on the sand, holding onto our rocks and programming them (it means exactly what it sounds like). So I started the ceremony. I stood in the middle of K, C, and M. And as I voiced what I wanted, they danced around me in circles, laughing and giggling, while sprinkling me with lavender (we later did a cleansing ceremony with sage, very similar to this one, where we got rid of all our doubt, disappointment, frustration, fear and anxiety).

I'm not going to lie. At first it felt as if the lunatics were running the asylum.

Then everyone else took a turn. We all wanted different things -contentment, love, success, health. Cookies, it was so odd! I had been so hesitant, but it was such a liberating and joyful experience. Can you understand that I just let it go? I let it all go! I was jumping around, telling God and the universe what I wanted. And because I physically did it, it meant so much more than just rationalizing it in my head! It was exhilarating.

After the ceremony, we jumped around some more -this time, just for fun. And we did cart-wheels on the sand. Until we were too tired, and we decided to go back upstairs.

It was fun, cookies. So, so fun! We might do it more often. I highly suggest you try it!

Oh, and my cousin C? She's got it together. No boy is going to steal her joy. No boy is going to dull her shine.

Rock on.