“The desert is a book of many pages, and just when
you believe you know all there is to know, it will surprise you with the
unexpected.” So wrote Louis L’Amore in
his great book “The Lonesome Gods. As a book
I have read and reread, I never saw these word before or, if I saw them, (I
actually had to) they did not register as they did last night. They spoke to me and got me thinking. I have been turning pages in this Arizona
desert for close to 58 years, so what has the daily page turning revealed to me
for my necessary education? An education
that is essential not only for survival, but for education, and formation as
well. So what has this desert journey
taught me, and continues to teach me as I make my trek through this is awe-full,
I have had to learn that in writing thoughts that otherwise
would not come to consciousness are there before you in black and white. I am surprised by the many, many thoughts
that are brought to mind by writing. I
have to stop and ask myself the question where did that come from? I did not
know I knew that reality, or that this had become a part of my thought process.
Yet, here it is right before me. It is through more writing that there is an
expansion of thought, and an elucidation of mind. This in turn led me to many, many hikes in
the Arizona desert, and endless journeys through many of the Western States. This present attempt must have been triggered
by my editing of thousands of photographs which are archived in my computer. As I worked on each one I was reminded of the
geographical location and what was going on in my moment to moment, existential
reality at the time.