Voyages of a Travelling Pebble

"There are moments in life, when the Heart is so full of emotion that if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble… drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, spilled on the ground like water, can never be gathered together." ~ Henry Wadsworth

This quote binds me to a child who lost her life on December 12, 2011.
On that day, fate collided with tragedy and my 21 year old daughter, Shayla Rae Dawn Driver was taken from me. Her single car wreck on a road besieged with previous accidents spun me out into my own destiny; where moments of chance have played out at the hands of an unseen force.
During the time since Shayla’s death, I have become the voice of a young, promising woman whose life ended on that winter's day. My tears, mirror the courage it has taken me to stand up to those, who disregarded my daughter’s life. My words echo throughout humanity that I will continue to carry on a cause, close to a mother’s heart.
Since the reasons of my blogging are to share the pinnacle moments rooted in pebbles, it lends itself to also being the change we wish to see. For Shayla’s passion for stones helped create The Heart Pebble Movement.
The purpose of the cause is to have anyone who wishes, to set a pebble into a source of water. This could be a pond, the seaside, a fountain, river, waterfall or a creative way of combining the two elements. It is key that I stress that safety must be the number one priority of everyone who participates.  Consider this in your release of a pebble and share with me, as I want to hear of stories that will inspire.
The origin of this movement came a month after Shayla’s passing. I was packing up her belongings and found her beloved winter jacket. At first, I grabbed the coat with the intention to wash it, yet something urged me to put it on. With tears pooling and my hands trembling, I wrapped my arms around myself in a hug. Suddenly, I felt something in the right sleeve. There under the folds of the jacket was a hidden pocket. I opened it and found a black velvet bag. Placing it on the table, I carefully opened to see its contents. Inside were several of my daughter’s treasured pebbles and a tattered piece of paper. Unfolding it, I recognized my writing in an instant. The note was written by me, four years earlier, from mother to daughter. I broke into a rupture of tears. It occurred to me how close I had come to washing away the remnants of my words that conveyed the integrated bond, Shayla and I shared. Lingering memories of our relationship and my daughter’s brilliant connection to pebbles, brings me comfort. I have found countless boxes of Shayla's filled with stones, gems, and crystals.
After Shayla passed, my former boyfriend Paul, shared with me how he had picked a pebble from his own unique assortment of rocks and hiked in the snow to a waterfall. The location was where he and Shayla had hiked the year before. There Paul gently placed a pebble into the icy waters, in her memory. Later, when I was alone, I imagined pebbles released all over the world; a loving tribute, to a young woman, with a golden heart.
Thus began the creation of The Heart Pebble Movement; with the inspiration of a Rose Quartz stone belonging to Shayla. Rose quartz is known as a love gemstone. Its pink color signifies its meaning. It is all about ‘love’ in different forms like love for oneself, love between a mother and child love or universal love. This gemstone can strike an energy that heals broken hearts.
Shayla’s Rose Quartz was with her when she passed away and found its way to me as I mourned her immeasurable loss.
I have received posts and pictures, not only in Canada, but all over North America, Europe and South America. Myself, I have travelled to Hawaii and England to place pebbles for my beloved daughter. Others have set a stone or pebble in on the beaches of the Philippines, in the Amazon River and on top of Machu Picchu. These are a few examples to show how the pebbles have travelled all over the world.
This movement has changed my degree of grieving. Even though I will never get over the loss of my daughter-it has shifted me into a positive light- stripping away the bleak reality of Shayla’s untimely passing.
When I am sent a photograph of where a pebble was immersed in water, it offers me such grace and comfort in a society where I am now known as a Vilomah. This term- derived from Sanskirt- refers to a parent whose child has died.
 By sharing the voyages of these travelling pebbles and the connection to my babygirl, I hope you find the time and place in your life to place one for her.
I encourage and welcome people to share with me their stories and snapshots of The Heart Pebble Movement. It is my hope that the roots of this cause will extend to the branches of a Ponderosa Pine tree…offering us protection along our journeys, as we share in life’s unexpected moments.