I have talked before of how flowing water is important to my sense of place…how the places most meaningful to me have all had a creek running through them. This week we traded our back yard of trees and creek for desert and mountains. We hadn't been to the Palm Springs area before and I wasn't sure how I would react to the desert…but I felt an affinity to it even when we arrived in the dead of night. We were greeted by a beautiful starry sky, which reminded me of the immense night skies of my youth on the North Dakota prairie.
Our host talked of the sense of spiritual strength she draws from the mountains seemingly springing from the earth just beyond their patio. I also felt a strong sense of peaceful calm. They seemed almost close enough to reach out and touch the strength.
We went for a walk later and discovered that water is present here as well…man-made, but water nevertheless. This seems to fill a human need…perhaps it has to do with how much our bodies need water to survive…but I think it goes beyond that. Just as our bodies need to eat and drink from the earth so do our spirits need to gain nourishment from our connection with the earth. We are looking forward to exploring that desert connection this week.
