I like to imagine that life is like the rising sun, we always have a chance to change our lives and start over again, to follow new paths or to see things in a new way. The rising sun is the image I am keeping in my mind for the way I want to live my life, I want to see things as if seeing them for the first time, with wonder and joy, as if every sunrise is the first one I have experienced. The world is so beautiful and when I see things in this way, I feel good inside, as if I am the wonders I see in the world, as if I am a part of each colorful butterfly fluttering in the wind. I hope to always have butterflies in my soul and saguaros standing tall above my head in their wisdom.
I look up to the Saguaro.
This Saguaro is nearly 100 years old. I stand here thinking of all the things this plant has witnessed, how many sunrises and sunsets, how many lives born and ended within its vision and yet here it stands. It has tough skin and strong thorns that cause pain if one bumps into them. Standing here, I hear the song of the Saguaro as the wind gently blows past the ribs and spines. I touch the green flesh of the Saguaro and it feels like skin. I wish I had a friend that would stand by me like the Saguaro. These days the Saguaro and the butterflies have been my only friends. Oh, but it doesn't matter, I don't think I am fit to live in the human world. I think I'll spend days in the company of my wild friends. Maybe some day in the future someone will touch me the way I touch the skin of the Saguaro, with respect and love. I can feel the life of the Saguaro beneath its tough skin, as if it has a heart beating somewhere within. I have spent many hot summer hours in the shade of a Saguaro, resting from the heat of the day, and I have eaten their sweet fruit. I have bonded with these giant cactus. I love to hear each individual song as the wind plays through the sharp spines. Once I found three giant Saguaros growing together, the wind created a harmony of sound, each Saguaro played a different note. I sat down and listened. I think it is time to listen to the song of the Saguaro.
Written & photographed 10/5/2010
