"Life is not some grand destination, but just the road you're on and the fact that you know how to drive"

-Barbara Kingsolver, ANIMAL DREAMS

There is certainly something about being in the Southwest.  Maybe it's the tremendous amount of sunshine folks here get.  During my short-time in Tuscon I am reminded of the inspirations provided by this desert landscape.  From Edward Abbey (writing about Southern Utah to Barbara Kingsolver (who has set both fictional and non-fictional accounts near Tucson) great forms of creative exploration come from these landscapes.

In high school, I read Kingsolver's ANIMAL DREAMS.  The plight of Cody and her sister Hallie have remained within close proximity of the way I interpret the world ever since.  I have read the book twice more, both at critical junctures in my life and they continue to provide insights and guidance that I still utilize.  When I descended into Tucson, the image of flight, so prevalent in Cody's personal transformations (from the birds on Native Reservations bringing her signs of Hallie's passing to the south in Nicaragua) to the plane that brings her back, takes her away, and then returns her, struck me again.  It is so special to step into a story by tracing the geographical spaces of its manifestations.  

I have found multiple inspirations on this trip.  Saguaro National Park, with blooming prickly pears and tall, strong, resilient Saguaro Cacti is a marvel for eyes accustomed to intermountain pine forests.  Life adapted to conditions that seem untenable requires protective mechanisms.  The mountains surrounding this elevated plateau call to me.  The Catalinas are sky-reaching formations that insist upon my entrance.  To climb by foot and not machine.

There are two specific experiences of significant note regarding my trip that I would like to share.

The first is the community I am staying in.  My friend Erika and her family relocated to the Tucson area from the Northwest when her husband got a tenure track position at the U of A. They were thrilled to find a community that fit their ideals of environmentalism, and created a space for their children and selves to feel a strong sense of place and purpose.

Tucson, and many other states in the southern part of the country, seem absolutely unreasonably suited for human habitation.  Phoenix, is a case in point.  The green is artificially constructed via the exportation (exploitation) of rivers to the North.  Water wars have already begun to flare to more easterly states.  We often forget the ways this land was also affected by colonization and the shifted relationship to the land which led to the damning of the rivers.

Yet within the paradoxes of desert living there are communities that are working towards maximizing implicit resources while minimizing excessive extraction of scarce resources.

Civano is one of those communities.  Civano is a Hokohum word for living in balance with nature.  The Hokohum civilization predates the Hopi and was considered a golden age of harmony and balance.  This present day community links its ideals to this ancient paradigmatic example through:

• establishing a sense of place and community connected to nature
• treading lightly
• committing to the goal of sustainability.

In my short time here, I have felt these ideals embodied in the structures, landscape, and people.  It just feels good here.  And although this ancient land is stil not happy to have so many humans on it, it is much better off than if this were a neo-traditional development of big homes and unsustainable gardens.  This community has water catchers, a small organic garden, solar panels, and many other features that tie sustainable living into a reasonable day-to-day practice.  Not only is it cool to be green, but it is a convenient and mutually beneficial practice.  Not to mention that the homes are affordable.

I love it here.  At some point in my life I would like to live here myself.  The inspiration is palpable.  And a part of me feels so at home--the rocks speak in whispers--but I can still hear them.  I want time to speak back.

The second experience I had here was moving and profound.  A friend of Erika's started a non- profit called "Beads of Courage."  The mission of this organization is to provide arts-based-medicine to children coping with serious illness.  For each aspect of their treatment they thread a bead of courage on a string.  These beads are donated from artists all over the country, and the cumulative creations are astoundingly beautiful and have had the measurable effects of reducing stress and increasing healing.  We heard from some of the families affected by the program and their stories were heartening.  We also chose beads and made beautiful, unique bracelets to take with us.  (The picture above is Erika and I wearing our creations)  I enjoyed the process a great deal and can see how it would be incredilby beneficial as part of a program of wholistic healing. It is inspiring (to say the least) to see how one woman can step outside of herself and the immediate needs of her family to create an organization that gives life and love to so many others.  

The sun shines here more.

Is that why everyone seems so happy? 

 I am putting this sunshine in my pocket, the one connected to my heart.  

May it shine brightly in my life and the lives of those I love.

And radiate beyond my immediate circle to connect me to the rest.

Rays of love.