East Park Integrative Chiropractic Logo Questions Answered.....

From Doctor McKamey...

About the CAIRN in our logo:

A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn [ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ] (plural càirn [ˈkʰaːrˠɲ]). 

From prehistoric times to the present, Cairns are and have been used for a broad variety of purposes including markers or monuments to guide travelers, indicate safe harbors or navigational channels.

They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering.

Cairns are simple rock formations, used as landmarks to guide travelers along a path or to mark a sacred place.  From the Arctic territories of the Inuit to temples in Korea, cairns can be found all over the world.

In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they have had since ancient times.

Hope For The Journey Ahead……..A Pinterest article from July.  The original author is Geologist David B. Williams.  The excerpt is from his book Cairns: Messengers in Stone.

 “Cairns have evolved as symbols of friendship, safety, and direction.  They offer guidance for those wandering life’s path.  To stumble upon a cairn is to know that you aren’t alone, that someone has traversed the same terrain you now find yourself on.  In this way, cairns remind us to never give up, that the journey is yours to make as long as you keep traveling.

It’s about those little piles of rocks best known as trail markers around the world.  In addition to weaving together the natural history of cairns, including geology, ecology, and how to figure out how old they are, I focus on three themes.  The first is communication, for cairns are arguably one of humanity’s earliest ways of sharing information.  The second is connection, in that people often build a cairn or add a stone to one as a means of connecting to place, history, and/or family.  And, finally, I write about cairns as a sign of community, of travelers, of hikers, of explorers; each time we build one or rely on one we are bonding with those who came before and will come later.”

During our travels as a family, we used to stack 7 stones in small towers wherever we went.  There was no real reason for the practice; it was a novelty.  Spiritually, seven is the number of completion or perfection.  Our small monuments were a sign we had been there, left for others to know someone had passed through before them. 

When Julie and I were considering logo’s for EPIC we wanted something very special to convey a uniqueness and establish a sense of community.  Stacked stones and balanced sea glass images began to jump into sight everywhere.  It was in perfect synchronicity with everything else that was happening.  The cairn in the image with this post, popped up on Pinterest during one of our searches for ideas.  Initially, we thought the cairn might serve as the I in EPIC.

My light side needed something more whimsical, with the same message but not as rigid.  Our immediate family rendered guidance.  A friend, Jen Moore, came up with the final whimsical cairn.   Many will not know its significance.  To paraphrase David B Williams:  It’s all about Communication, Connection and Community.