In the summer, I try to cut myself off from the world of politics, from newspapers and television, from events happening outside my home. It's a well-needed break for someone like me who tends to react with emotion to all the tragedy in the world. Summer, I've always thought, is a necessary time for rest and relaxation and rejuvenation. Time to connect with the landscape, time for reflection.
Fourteen days in the canyon gave me a chance to forget about all that was happening in the world: the war in Iraq, the Bush administration's continued assault on the environment, and the endless ways in which sexism, racism, and homophobia continue to dominate the culture we live in. Well, maybe I didn't completely forget about these things, but it was wonderful to spend days just hiking, rafting, and absorbing all the beauty around me. Isolated as we were, we had no way of knowing what was going on in the country or the world, no way of seeing beyond the breath-takingly beautiful landscape we were travelling through. For two weeks, I lived in a community of fifteen like-minded people, many of us wanting a break from the politics that make us angry.
It is difficult now to read about the devastation in New Orleans, to surf blogs and read about what is going on in the country. One of my favorite students from last semester, who was commissioned the day after graduation, has been training all summer and gets shipped to Iraq this week. Tonight I watched television again, the local news, to see the story about a local boy, a young man who went to high school with my niece, who was killed yesterday in Iraq. He was 23 years old. I am trying desperately to keep the peace of the canyon inside me as I listen.
13 comments:
I, for one, am grateful for your posts. They are like a beautiful island of peaceful sanity - thank you.
your visuals are sharing that peace with many people. your poetic posts allow us that moment of connection while you take us momentarily to the places you've been.
I think it's wise practice to take time out from the world.
I just stopped by after visiting another blog where Katrina was the topic of the day. Your photo calmed me right down -- temporarily, anyway.
Your blog is a wonderful respite from the horrors on TV. Thank you!
I am trying desperately to keep the canyon....
perfection again.
Keep the peace of the canyon inside. Yes, I'll try that.
Oh, I can't really begin to say how I *love* your pictures :) I went to the Grand Canyon two years ago, and I couldn't stop thinking how it should be to go down there. When you said you were going to do this trip, I couldn't wait to read about it. It's been worth the wait, as everyone's saying.
Oh, and about the previous picture - I don't think you'd be trying to shield yourself from the water, you'd be the one enjoying it fully. Your fuzzy image under the water reminded me a bit of your daughter's picture from the other day (even with her eyes covered and all).
Can I come with you next time?
I never really wanted to go to the Colorado River until reading your posts & seeing your pictures. I have, however, spent much time backpacking in the Sierras of California, and have even eaten prickly pear fruit. Next time, I'll have to make them into a margarita :-)
jo(e), these photos and your writing remind me of a song recorded by Judy Collins 15 years or so ago, I think taken from a Celtic prayer, but the line coming into my mind over and over again is "Deep Peace of the running wave to you." Thank you for these moments of deep peace.
Beautiful, Jo(e). These are such calming pictures. It is a feeling we are all looking for.
Thanks, K. You are right, as usual. It's so hard not to let the dominant culture destroy that peacefulness of spirit.
You say it beautifully. I hope we can all find our inner peace.
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