Friday, December 30, 2011

Desert Reflections.


Behold - the vast desert around me, falling away in every direction. The sand molds between my bare toes while the rock holds me back from sinking into the sky. Wisps of white follow the circling birds of the vast blue, converging into shapes not yet discovered.

The stones I touch transmit the knowledge of the universe, a timeless seat of eternal observation; victim to the slowest of movement, master of concentration. The naturalness abounds, only I am out of place. Maybe a millennium past I would be accepted. Now my kind doesn’t sit and accept itself as a part of nature; instead we find creative ways to control it. Can I interact with my beautiful surroundings in a truly appreciative and natural way?

I remove my clothes and let the sun warm my body. I am joined also by the lizards, the desert fox, and his rabbit also naked and beautiful. I am joined by everyone who stood in this spot and looked towards the sky with a smile; I am joined by everyone who will do so in the future. Without my clothes I shed the inhibitions and illusions of my society. I empathize with the piƱon and sagebrush, grounded in the earth yet wild with the wind.

Running barefoot through the sand I reach the edge of a vast cliff. Below me, the valley holds water and life and grasps the remaining light of day. Am I privileged enough to dance with the fearless nocturnal creatures? They emerge happily, curiously, oblivious to my troubled mind. The tempest of my thoughts touches ground at this very spot, eternally and impeccably quiet. A fire shoots sparks upwards, mingling with distant stars and planets; the calm atmosphere settles upon the southwest. My breath lingers, trembling.

I awake to the miraculous emergence of the sun, the trumpets of finches and crows declaring its arrival. Walking from my solitude towards the world I know, my head drops. I put on my clothes and return to my home, full of love for that beautiful place I know; full of sorrow for the eyes oblivious to this beauty, focused instead on a flawed and corrosive world of our own design.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A truly beautiful story.

Thank you!