There’s a reason why I fall to my knees in the desert

Why I relish every miniscule grain of sand

Why my heart skips a beat at the sight of mighty mountains emerging from golden beds

Why I feel I am in the presence of the Divine.

I know why I have the urge to pray in the desert.

Why my palms press together and my forehead touches the Earth,

Why my tears drip to the ground in recognition of the circle of life

And every step I take is a walk of gratitude.

I understand that to enter the desert is like a twirl in a circle dance,

A footfall in a labyrinth meditation,

A line from an ancient chant, born from the voices of women passed,

Still reverberating off of every rock, every mountain side, every heart of every person who ever walked the Earth.

Because the desert stands alone

And in its aloneness lies its strength

For the desert is what it is and it knows

It is no more than a desert and no less.

It lies and it burns, scorched with the passion of thousands of suns

of love,

from love,

In love

With itself

Because it is at peace with the nothingness of its soul

And in its nothingness it manages to capture the meaning of life:

Acceptance,

Surrender,

Forgiveness,

And teacher desert achieves it all in perfect stillness.

I want to be like the desert wild and raw and free

With no expectations and hopes of my own,

Except for the desire to

love,

love,

love

And be guided.

Just as the desert embraces the void

So do I want to fall into nothing-ness

And just as the desert relishes in its emptiness

So do I want to become that empty vessel for God to fill.

For the desert is a reflection of me

And I of it.

God has taken over.

Nothing but love lives here now.