How the Southwest Saved My Life, Part I

[This essay was originally posted to "The Third Tale," a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]

Post-divorce and pre-Japan was a wandering time (as mentioned in my post about Robert Urich). And the wandering place that meant the most was the Four Corners area, especially New Mexico.

The LAND itself was healing; the PEOPLE and the SOLITUDE. The picture above shows me with some Taoseno Indians on the front porch of their home in Taos Pueblo; they and many others accepted me with a kindness that was inexplicable.

Once I took a group of students to the Pueblos, and at one of them we attended a "rain dance" (they called it a "corn dance," as the rain leads to corn). One of our boys bought smoke bombs at a booth and proceeded to go around setting them off.

I was livid. This is these people's HOMES, I said. How would you like it if someone did this in YOUR yard?

As I rode my high-horse, a big--and I mean BIG--dancer (on a break from the heat) came over, sat down in the midst of our group, and asked where we were from. I told him, and then hastily apologized for my charge's behavior.

"No problem," he said. "We dance for the whole world. We're really glad you're here."

Wow.

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Categories: Bio, Compassion, Gratitude, Peace, Spirituality, The West

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