I was on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina last week, mostly wandering the streets and eating delicious food with my family. Charleston is known for its history, architecture, and food. It’s just a beautiful city, easy to walk, satisfying to taste.
Two architectural features that aren’t unique to Charleston, but fit my latest theme of rocks and stones, are the cornerstone and the capstone. We use the terms today to mean more than their original meaning, so let’s dig in.
Cornerstone can also apply to the foundation stone. These are the first stones laid on a foundation, marking its orientation on the land. They are usually large and heavy enough to support the weight of the building on its four corners. Often, the date that the foundation stone was laid is carved onto it. Time capsules have been placed in a hollowed out portion. To underscore just how important the foundation stone was, an ancient tradition was to place remains of a sacrificed animal under one.
The cornerstone also refers to the stones that create or make up the external corners of a building. They add support at the four corners of a rectangular-shaped building. Eventually, they were more decorative than structural, alternating directions of the rectangular shaped blocks and carving elaborate details in them.
The capstone, also known as the keystone, is the center block at the top of an arch, usually wedge shaped. Its function is to support the forces from the weight of the arch to keep it from falling in.
So what are the cornerstones in your life? What are your foundational beliefs? What have you built your life on?
What keeps you on solid ground and firmly supported?
It will be different for each of us of course. For me, it’s been love—from and for family, friends, and humankind. If that foundation of love hadn’t been there from the start, I wouldn’t be the person I am. Everything builds on love—kindness, respect, gentleness, mercy, grace vulnerability, authenticity.
The capstones in my life are the icings on the cake. They aren’t foundational, but they bring me joy, bliss, and a fuller life. They “cap off” my existence.
One such capstone for me has been beauty. And maybe beauty is another expression of love. There is so much beauty in the natural world that I feel it as an expression of the divine’s love for us. Beautiful music, art, and writing is a necessary part of my life, both in consumption, as well as creation.
And curiosity is another of my capstones. I’ve always been interested in the world around me, eager to learn more—first from the full set of encyclopedias that my parents purchased, to now, the World Wide Web. Curiosity requires that I be fully aware and attuned to my surroundings. What captures my attention can then be explored.
I acknowledge that these cornerstones and capstones of love, beauty, and curiosity may be a luxury that is not accessible to all humanity. I am humbled and grateful, though, to claim them as mine. What are yours?