Desert Loss and Recovery
Large, open sky filled with pastel hues, inviting and warm.
I am lost in the vast space, the wispy sky stretching across the valley,
Beauty surrounds me, transporting me to a place of softness and awe.
I lose awareness of time and space, unaware and uncaring of my own being;
Yet more aware of being than ever before.
Pink, blue, tan, yellow – the pastel pallet on full display.
The high desert exposes its deceptive and complex personality.
The sun sinking in the west; shadows emerging through the pastel hue.
The soft colors and gentle breezes belie the harshness of the coming darkness;
Inviting, drawing me in, beautiful yet unknown.
Darkness begins to swallow the pallet and kill the evening softness.
Slowly, moonlight floods my space and further alters my reality.
The desert is now moonlit and the night fills with movement and sound.
As my surroundings come alive with many beings enjoying the cooling desert;
I sense an emerging world – different, compelling, and dangerous.
I am no longer warm and lost in the pastel pallet.
My senses are heightened and I move slowly, carefully.
The desert becomes something dangerous that can swallow me.
There is no warmth, no sense of wanting to linger forever in the soft colors;
My curiosity and fear entangled in the moon’s shifting shadows.
My eyes turn once more to the sky seeking comfort in the moon.
I am surprised that the pallet has transformed into an intense blanket of stars.
Looking up, I am again robbed of my own being, sensing only the common force.
Stars and moonlight, shadows and sounds, fear and fascination, blend in a new canvas;
Trembling, I await the morning sun and the rekindling of self.