enlivened by the fragrance of sun-kissed desert dust, She unfurls to sing Her song
Returning home to the arroyo hondo, the deep stream, the place where i began to fall in love with the high desert, i feel suffocated. My face is covered with a mask, as is the way these days. But the suffocation goes deeper for i feel it in my bones, my soul. The pandemic has brought with it a cloud of uncertainty that enshrouds us all.
As my soles stir up the rusty desert dust along the path, i bear witness to the life erupting all around me. Brilliant reds revealing Earth’s inner fire, yellows reflecting Sun’s rays, and purples (the color God wants you to notice) pop against the rusty stones. These radiant Beings, singing praise with their unfurling colors, begin to permeate the cloud that suffocates me.
i rest under the shade of an old and wise Piñon and peer down to see a little Rose-heath fluttering ecstatically with Wind and Sun filtering through Piñon. She tells me to remove my mask.
Just breathe, She says. And so i do.
i breathe in the lovely fragrance that only sun-kissed high desert dust peppered with Piñon and Juniper essences can emanate. i feel as though i am breathing for the first time in a long time.
We are wandering in a deserted land, all of us. And i know many of us may not leave this land and for this i deeply grieve. The chorus of the desert blooms along my wandering today, however, have re-minded me that we are not alone in this desert. Pause, take a breath, and witness the life erupting all around, whether in the colors of desert blooms, or in the coming together of peoples to bring about life-giving goodness for all.
Enlivening Breath, awaken me to Your cycle
Enlivening Breath
Whose fragrance pervades this desert time
and lures desert blooms to sing
of the new life ensured by Your cycle
fill my lungs with Your life essence
reawaken my bones with the knowing
that though we wander through desert times
You are making the ground fertile
for the birthing of new life
