leela: sage wind, horsetails

Sunday, September 26, 2010

sage wind, horsetails

"Our kinship with Earth must be maintained; otherwise, we will find ourselves trapped in the center of our own paved-over souls with no way out."

— Terry Tempest Williams

On our way to the Dave Matthew's concert at the Gorge Amphitheater, I felt drawn to dance with the wild openness of the desert landscape which was filled with the alluring scent of sage brush.

I have always loved how the desert environment mirrors our own inner landscape in the way it makes you feel connected to spirit in such an expansive way. This dance practice was a reflection of my inner landscape and was also a playful response to dancing with spirit wind inspired by the horsetail-clouds in the evening sky. Spirit wind is one of my favorite dance partners as I love responding to the unpredictable rhythms of the wind's gusts.

Because of the dryness of the desert environment, garbage does not disintegrate readily, so I was moved to dance with dancing garbage that was caught in the sage brush. Today's practice was one of honoring the beauty of our diverse Mother Earth / Ocean....

Wild Horses Monument is on the hill in the above photos - bigger than life iron horses galloping for an eternity across the desert... a tribute to wildness...

I have been inspired over many years by the writings of Terry Tempest Williams as she has spoken so eloquently about protecting desert landscapes -

“Our sense of community and compassionate intelligence must be extended to all life forms, plants, animals, rocks, rivers, and human beings. This is the story of our past and it will be the story of our future.”