As a person grown up and lived mostly in big cities in his adult life, I hardly heard the word “Wing Dam”. But, if you're living somewhere near Delaware River, or any river for that matter, this word may sound quite familiar to you.

Me and my wife have recently come across this little peninsula-like dam in Lambertville called “Lambertville-New Hope Delaware River Wing Dam”. We discovered this awn-inspiring, sanctuary-like spot running out into the river during our daily walks on D&R Canal, which is a 77-mile trail path by the Delaware River and it felt so good to explore, walk through and sit still over there.

When I looked up the dictionary for the word “Wing Dam”, it described its function as “These structures force water into a fast-moving center channel which reduces the rate of sediment accumulation, while slowing water flow near the riverbanks”.

What ever the main reason it might be, all I can say is that this place, at first sight, has evoked positive feelings in us, uplifted our spirits and become quite a metaphor for our daily life with its calming nature…and immediately we started perceiving this place as a meditative point that reminds us to keep our stillness amid all that cacophony that sometimes happens around us. And the strong, yet gentle water flow has become the sheer reminder that even if it seems so hard, sometimes we just need to let go and go with the flow...  

Now, take that sentence above and replace some of the words as follows: 

- ‘These structures’ with ‘your meditation’, 

- ‘water’ with ‘your thoughts’, 

- 'Sediments’ with ‘disruptive feelings and emotions’

- 'The riverbanks’ with ‘where ever you are’….

then the sentence would become:

“ Your meditation forces your thoughts into a fast-moving center channel which reduces the rate of disruptive feelings and emotions accumulation, while slowing your thoughts flow where ever you are. ”.

As scientific and sophisticated as it may sound, I can totally image these words coming from, say, a renowned mediation instructor somewhere around the world:)

If you're already practicing or new to meditation and if you’d ever come to Lambertville on a beautiful warm, breezy day, you can visit this lovely spot, take time to observe and contemplate on the scenery...We are sure you’ll find your own interpretation of what it will evoke in you.

Music by Pat Metheny - Rendition of 'Sound of Silence' written by Paul Simon