Original post: The Desert - Lost in it
By Salwa Michel @mixreading.com
The desert
“In the desert, surrounded by aridity - all that can be seen is dryness. The ground is dry and cracked with the desiccation that has sapped it of all kinds of moisture.
Dry and cracked the ground yields nothing and there are no trees to provide any shelter. As far as the eye can see, it is just acre after acre of endless dry sand, dunes. The air hot and harsh, it eats at the skin to take any moisture that is there.
I feel trapped, surrounded by nothingness, and I expect at any moment to see the scorpions and the snakes that the desert is known for.
Out of the cracks they will come, and there will be no place to go and escape from them. Fear cripples me, and I know not where to turn, or to seek coverage either from the harsh sun, or the deadly elements that I keep expecting.
I wander further on, slowly, and try to calm my racing heart, for the fear is crippling me. As I go on walking, I begin to calm down and to know that I am not really trapped or lost for I am here and I am alive and perfectly able to leave the area.
With that realization comes sanity, and I begin to see little things I had not noticed before:
· The air might be dry, but it is fresh.
· As I look around I see the special type of life that is typical of a desert.
· Tiny scurrying animals that dart out and disappear to hide from the heat.
· There are plants even if there foliage is strange.
· Looking closely, the cacti are actually beautiful.
· I reach for a cacti laden with fruit – it pricks me.
· Peeling the fruit is an ordeal, until I taste it – heavenly!!!
· The air is still dry, but I am not thirsty!
The desert, not so scary anymore. For every environment has its unique flavors, but as a stranger in an environment that you are not familiar with, it is difficult to see those hidden secrets.
I could plant some trees and then I will have more oxygen and more plants in this lovely place. I can make it alive with every seed I plant.
Eat a cacti, enjoy it and look beyond the dryness.