Thirty Nights in the Desert

It occurred to me that my time in the desert was to be Thirty. A mystical number you ask? No, merely the number of days on my lease. A month of rest and quite time to search my soul and meditate on life. This is my way of cleansing the body and soul through the forces of nature. What could be more natural. Thirty days and thirty nights to reunite myself with the mountain gods and to breathe in their mystic powers. Thirty to recharge my vitamin D in the desert sun.

It is said of the desert that it is a desolate place where only the strong can survive and the weak must succumb to its deadly cold and heat. I have found in fact the opposite to be true. Granted it is not a place where one walks without some caution but it can be cultivated to serve ones purpose. I gain a raw energy from its rocks and soil. To breathe the fresh air cleaned by the mountain pines is exhilarating.

My desert is resplendent in its beauty waring the barren sands like a mantle of a queen. Mostly buried are its real treasures that come to life in the winter rains. Once awakened the spectacle is unforgettable. Nature at it most magnificent. When the desert blooms the mountains stand in awe for to see the pungent colors in such mass is truly breath taking.

What have I gleaned from my desert stays? Mostly that life is merely a mirage of our own making, that it can be coaxed and conjured to whatever degree that we desire. The desert has taught me that to be alone is not necessarily to be lonely, and that to be arid and dry does not necessarily hinder fertility.

There is an energy here that I feel compelled to visit once a year or so. For many it is the lakes or oceans that fill their souls but my sun sign requires earth and fire. Many times I have come to this place and many times I have felt its awesome powers. To live without its touch would be most difficult and most definitely a lonely place.