Jackie Krawczak

Rockport State Park Recreation Area is a beautiful place to spend time. Hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, lovely views, and much more.

I’ve visited Rockport many times, often to hike or bike to the sinkholes or visit a sandy beach that’s tucked away.

The path to the sinkholes is beautiful to me because it winds through many different settings. There is the quarry, fields, forest, and my favorite part of the path, the Birch Trees. No matter the season, this area is stunning.

The last ¾ mile to the sinkholes was always full of rocks and roots. I enjoyed the challenge of maneuvering a bike or my feet over those small hurdles. It was a fun part of the adventure.

However, on a recent visit to Rockport, something about the hike had changed.

Roughly halfway through the hike to the sinkholes (don’t hold me to this, I am not the best with distances so halfway is Jackie math), the path changed. Someone had dumped what appeared to be crushed limestone on the path. In some areas it was still in piles and needed to be spread evenly along the path, while in other areas it had already been spread and was compact on the path.

This made one thing about the hike very different. The rocks and tree roots were gone, covered by the limestone. Part of what I enjoyed most about the path was no longer.

I was grumbling and wondering why they would do that. It detracted from the scenery and made what I used to consider a hike into a walk.

I didn’t like it. But then I realized, I was being one of those people.

You know the ones. They judge and complain about something they didn’t fully understand. I hadn’t yet learned the why behind the change. I was quick to say I didn’t like it and was immediately irritated by the change.

I did not like the way that made me feel, so I stopped myself for a moment and thought through the situation. I reminded myself that there are plenty of others places to hike, that the scenery was still beautiful, and that I could still access the sinkholes. I reminded myself that I didn’t know the reason someone was altering the path and that I was not the only person who used that path. It wasn’t all about me.

It would be better for me to adopt a curious mindset than a judgmental one.

Was digging into the reasons behind the change worth my effort? I still love Rockport. I still enjoyed seeing the sinkholes that day. I still enjoyed the walk. I didn’t need to spend time digging into why it was changed because even if I learned why, I wasn’t prepared to spend energy fighting it.

Therefore, it was not in my best interest to let it bother me or to complain.

Yet, we see that all the time. Just the other day there was a news article about two new businesses coming to town. There were many comments on the article on social media, few of them in support of the new businesses, with the rest suggesting they were going into bad locations, they were businesses the town didn’t need and that planning committees were useless. Then there were so many comments telling readers what the community “needs” instead.

I made a sarcastic comment on the post. I stated that I was there just to see what the economic development experts had to say. There is zero chance that everyone who commented knows how economic development happens. I’d be surprised if even one of those who commented had any inkling of how those decisions are made and how much say a community has over what new businesses open.

Yet we chime in anyway.

I’m not an expert on paths in the woods. I have no idea why they added crushed limestone. In fact, I don’t even know if that’s what the stone-like product was or who “they” is. I jumped to not liking it before understanding the entire picture and before considering whether it was even worth spending any energy on.

We spend so much energy in places that don’t do us any good. What are we missing out on because of a misappropriation of our thoughts and energy? I am sure I will catch myself falling into this again one day, but the Rockport walk was a great reminder to try not to. I’d rather spend my energy and thoughts on things that really matter to me and can really make a difference.