* Creative Contemplative *

Word * Vision * Place

I believe nature offers opportunities for connection, the arts offer opportunities for self-expression, and life offers continual opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

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Do you think of the desert as a welcoming place, as a learning and healing space? I do. I know it is true for me, and it may be true for you, too.

Let me tell you about my experiences on my own journey in the desert. I learned about her many gifts – not only her spiritual and metaphorical gifts, but also the gifts I continue to discover while living near the desert.

I didn’t even know the desert 9 years ago. Well, I thought I knew about the desert, the way most people who have never walked a desert know it. I thought it to be endless sand, hot and dry, an occasional cactus looming on the horizon. Cartoon characters Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote were my introduction to the Sonoran Desert, the enormous expanse of arid land that covers southern Arizona and California and extends deep into Mexico.

But the desert is indeed a land of life and diversity. It is a region steeped in legend, mythology, cultures and history – region that is romanticized, but not well understood.

The desert’s mystery transformed me – mind, heart, and soul – nine years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. At first glance, indeed, the desert appears as a forgotten land.

In times of drought, the desert takes on myriad shades of brown. But when the monsoonal rains descend in summer and the gentler winter rains fall, the desert transforms into a land unexpectedly lush and verdant.

Desert Sunrise

Desert Light

Let’s walk in the desert. Let’s explore. Seek her gifts. Listen. Learn.

In the desert, the first lesson is one of letting go of all expectations while learning to simply wait with patience and watch with awareness.

We let go. We wait. We watch.

Typically it is quiet in the hot middle of the day, and we hear only the rustle of wind against our faces. If the winds are silent, the only sounds are of our breathing and our heartbeat.

We wait, gradually embracing the solitude, the spaciousness, the endlessness. One can feel very small in the desert, and paradoxically, infinite and expansive.

As we let go and wait, the desert accepts our presence and awakens to us. The desert offers us her gifts.

The sun descends in the sky, the bleached desert-scape warms, dressed in hues of gold and bronze. Lizards scurry, cactus wrens alight on tips of saguaro, red tailed hawks soar on thermals. Desert mountains deepen in blue shadow.

We stand on the desert floor, and slowly, we take root. We connect with the earth, refill our spirits, recharge our minds.

Fishhook Barrel Cactus

Discoveries in the Details

The sun continues its westward trek. Studying the landscape, there is no desolation or emptiness. It is wild with diversity and beauty. Trees, flowering bushes and plants, cacti. Each plant has space enough to grow and thrive in this harsh environment.

We can also thrive.

We learn from the desert. We need space enough to thrive, yet community for connection. This is the desert with her gifts – community and spaciousness, solitude and grounding.

Challenging? Yes, sometimes. Fulfilling and glorious, too.

Let’s wait a bit longer. The bronzes and golds deepen into shades of magenta and vermillion. The changing light astonishes, illuminates. It delights. Twilight slips across the desert and suddenly the Universe opens above our heads. The dark skies are limitless. Stars span the sky, so many stars the sky turns milky white.

We are alive and vibrant.

Light returns with the breaking dawn and we remember who we are — we know our strengths, passions, purpose. We not only meet challenges with our minds, but also with our hearts and our spirits. We answer from the very depth of our souls.

A sampling of the many gifts the desert offers:

grounding, self-reliance, release,
awareness, vulnerability, spaciousness,
attentiveness, presence, patience,
acceptance, and resiliency

I share the story of my healing journey with you, my dear readers.

To the right is the link to the series of posts I wrote about my journey of healing.

I hope you will read and delve deeply into this series, and connect with my journey and my work.

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I feel a deep connection with the desert. And I want to share these discoveries, the wisdom and the experience.

Do you hear the call of desert wisdom?

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The best way to start exploring the desert as a learning ground and healing space is to take my free Gifts of the Desert e-course.

The Gifts of the Desert is a 5-part series that will connect you to the inspiring wisdom of the Sonoran desert. This mini-program has five sections that are called “Self-Care,” “Grounding,” “Awareness,” “Discovery,” and “Resilience.”

Fill out and submit the form below. I’ll be sending you my complimentary course as soon as I receive your confirmation.