Desert Day

November 5, 2012

There are times in our lives when we feel life flow in our veins, feel ourselves to be alive...but we need to be alone, we need to have time, to be at rest, to be rested too. Dorothy Day

At last…some peace & quiet! I know that must sound terribly selfish to those of you surrounded by whining children or noisy political ads. But the last 4 days have been busier and more social than I had expected, or wanted. Hence the brilliance of the Carmelite schedule that devotes an entire day each week to unscheduled retreat- no communal prayer or meals, no work or chores, no discussions or conversations of any sort. In a word, heaven. (I know, one person’s heaven is another’s hell!) Mondays are now my new favorite day of the week.

I was able to begin letter-writing, as I’d hoped to make a daily practice here. I’m cutting myself some slack around those plans for the everyday (e.g. letters, yoga, running, journaling, reading, blogging, etc.) Routines don’t happen over night. In fact, the only daily practice that is in place, oddly enough, is Crunchy Betty’s Face Wash Regimen (thanks, Santhin!) I figure what better time for skin experiments than while away from civilization for 5 weeks J If you don’t see me in December as scheduled, assume I’ve gone into hiding like the Phantom.

That said, there’s no excuse for skipping these daily practices on Mondays. So, after some writing, I headed out for an undetermined walk up Camino Baca Grande in the opposite direction of Crazy Crestone. After about 30 minutes I came upon Willow Creek and I meandered through the trees until I heard the sound of liquid gold…which to me, after 6 days in the in the desert, means water. I can’t describe how satisfying the sound of trickling springs and the sight of little waterfalls were to my very dry ears and eyes. 

I wanted to linger by the creek all afternoon, but my urban precautions took over and hustled me back to the wide open main road. It’s a shame, really, that the threat of violence- so culturally ingrained in the female psyche, especially- can disturb such a peaceful moment in time in what’s likely such a safe situation. I’m sure not all urban-raised women would react as I did... maybe just the daughters of policemen.

Let our first act every morning be the following resolve: “I shall not fear anyone on earth. I shall fear only God. I shall bear ill-will towards no one. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.” Gandhi