I’m not from the desert. But, in April of this year I spent some good solo time on a spot of land in the Mojave Desert that welcomed me like home. How fortunate am I? Those hot sunny days and cold moonlit night changed me into more of me, in the springtime among the blooming cactus plants, and this fall I got to return.
Not sure if I could find the same spot out there in the wide terrain where each of my fellow vision questers and I first sought out to find a solitary place to do our inner vision work. Releasing residue of unfinished business, opening to new insights and possibilities for moving forward with more clarity, we each came back transformed for the better because of our desert experience.
In ways seen and unseen, deep positives shifts occurred and the earth, the critters, plants and rocks like these welcomed, witnessed and mysteriously played with us. I felt that this spot of land would remember me. Would I recognize it? A few weeks ago I set out to find it again and I let my feet lead. My mind said, “Isn’t it over there more?” pointing to the east. My feet kept walking to the west. “Maybe we’re already there,” said my heart that can remember the visceral experience in memory without need to return but longed to anyway. My feet kept walking. Soon I knew I was close, but which ridge was it? All the trees seemed so similar. How would I recognize the exact plants? My feet stopped. I asked aloud, “Where is my spot?” My body turned slowly and I saw a rockscape to the north. Oh, yeah! There were rocks to the east of my spot. One ridge over and I was there. Home. Jubilant and grateful for the return visit.
What landscape calls to you? Where do you feel most at home? Perhaps it is not where you are from, but instead is a part of this beautiful planet that seems unfamiliar until you listen and welcome its wisdom.
