(Originally posted March 7, 2015 – Owen)

There is a wisdom that only the desert knows.

The old people know this, that is why they come: to hear a wisdom far older than they are.  The Tohono O’odham know this: they say the land holds secrets, revealed only through the ha:ṣañ.  I know it, too — in the desert light, everything can be seen, but knowing and seeing are two different things.

Young men and young women want love, they seek until they think they’ve found it, and the whole world seems to change: but the desert remains the same.

Aging women and aging men seek salvation, they sometimes die searching for true waters that bring happiness: but the desert knows it is the stillest plant that holds the most water.

Old men and old women seek a place to rest, to live, to die: the desert knows that dying no more ends the story than raining ends water.

I sit here surrounded by the glories of the ancient life, and I must listen.  Listen and weep.  Listen closer and smile.

Listen closest…

… And rest.