Row of Rockers © 2013 Bo Mackison
Turning a corner in Southport, I found this porch, home to a dozen rocking chairs.
There aren’t many inspiring quotes about rocking chairs. I found that surprising. The quotes I read insinuated that only those who could do nothing else would choose to spend time rocking in a rocking chair. Or that a rocking chair doesn’t go anywhere, just rocks in place, and why spend time going nowhere?
Ah, this row of inviting rocking chairs., filled with their own history.
I noticed the rockers as I strolled past the front porch of the Walker-Pyke House in Southport, North Carolina. The building, built circa 1800, is probably the oldest residence in Southport. It is a part of Southport’s Historic District and is on the National Register of Historic Sites. That’s the historical part.
Here’s the part where this photograph becomes a metaphor.
The rockers are an invitation to sit down, slow down, relax. Enjoy the view. (Imagine the view from this front porch – across the road are a few wooden piers and the gently rolling Cape Fear River. Late season day – November – peaceful, quiet. Blue skies, a bottle green sea. Breathe the fresh air. Ahhh.)
Perhaps it’s time to take a break.
Perhaps it’s time to turn from a hectic schedule, give your body a time out and your mind some space. Allow new ideas to percolate while you relax with the back and forth of the rocking rhythm. It’s amazing how new ideas can crystalize when the mind has some roaming time.
So many things to love about the rocking chair. An evening pause. A vacation moment. A creative spark.
Do you love rocking chairs as much as I do?
About Bo Mackison
I absolutely do, Bo. Interesting that you’ve not found many rocking chair quotes except those suggesting them as mere respites for retirees. Rocking chairs are installed at ferry landings as waiting places for weary travelers and the Wilmington airport (ILM!) as, again, waiting places for weary travelers. There, the rocking chairs circle the luggage carrousel and people sit and rock waiting for their luggage to appear. Rocking chairs are soothing, like mothers rocking their babies. They grant us peace and the rocking motion is like a calming mantra. If anyone can write their own rocking chair quote I think it would be you. Great photo – thanks for sharing that adventure with me as well!
I rocked in those rocking chairs at the ferry and spent several hours rocking and writing in one in the Wilmington airport when my plane was changed. Oh, yes! Love me some rocking! Calming mantra — oh yes indeed.