THE DESERT

HAUNTED AND INSPIRING

“We will till the desert till it blossoms like a rose. We will plant fields of grain, for that crop will give us substance of life and barter for our other necessities of life,” Brigham Young July 26, 1847

Deserts are an enigma; some people hate them, others love them. I think it depends on whether or not you were desert-born or not. What do I mean by that? The people who are happy and evolved to survive in these harsh environments are at home in them. These are those who are there not only by physical birth, but also by spiritual conversion. There are those who never will resolve their dislike of those barren empty spaces where the wind blows free and you can see to the horizon in any direction you care to look; they fear the emptiness. Where the summers are blistering hot and the winters are soul numbing cold.

Why do I call them “inspiring? I do because I have so many examples to refer to, both historically and personally. John Muir,naturalist, activist, famous for his love of the mountains (“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees..”) also spent a lot of time in the Great Basin desert as well as the Mojave. He seemed overwhelmed at first by the emptiness he encountered. He wrote “Nevada seems one vast desert, all sage and sand, hopelessly irredeemable now and forever.” However a firm believer in the beauty of all nature, he dug past what he call the “savage nakedness” and uncovered the unique and compelling landscapes. ir

John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus Christ both traveled into the desert for solitude and inspiration. Edward Abbey found both solitude and inspiration in the desert and chronicled it in his epic “Desert Solitaire“. I have found that “good tiding” and “nature’s peace” while sitting under a juniper tree or on a rocky outcropping to contemplate the world around me. I find the inspiration to write essays like this one and fictional sories as well. My will to overcome is bolstered by this environment

I have found that “good tiding” and “nature’s peace” while sitting under a juniper tree or on a rocky outcropping to contemplate my world and the world around me. I have inspiration to write essays like this and fictional stories as well. My will to overcome was bolstered by this environment. I was born for this place. I am at home here.

There is inspiration in the desert—yes, but there are ghost here as well. In 1867 or 68, aScottish couple, just East of where I now live, were found murdered (page 275), ostensibly for the $300 they had been saving to return to Scotland. No one was ever convicted for this crime. Do their ghosts roam here? No more than the ghosts of the native Americans who were killed or the ancients who lived here at the end of the Ice Age. Yet, sometimes one hears things, something out of place or reason. The wind often wails with the voices of the dead, and the shifting, whispering sand talks of the past, the glory and horror of those times. Sometimes the birds will stop their tittering as they sense some apparition pass by, seen and felt only by them.

In the deserts of the world, ghosts, demons, evil spirits, and Djinn roam unfettered, taking a toll on the fears and sanity of men. Dust devils, whirlwinds trumpet the words of Gods to prophets. Shifting sand dunes swallow up the unwary, sucked down into purgatory by these evil ones? Maybe.

The deserts of the word are both wonderful and terrible. They inspire, they make men mad—with thirst or solitude or mischievous spirits. Deserts are barren, yet full of life. They are sun baked and sand blasted hell’s; at times cold enough to kill—but they are beautiful in their terribleness. They often provide sacred spaces and room to find oneself. Again, I was born for this place; I am at home here. Peace be with you.

LIST OF DESERTS BY AREA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deserts_by_area