Treasures

You need not search for meaning, truth, or wisdom. You need make no conscious attempt to know, discover, or find. Grand Staircase-Escalante wilderness welcomes you into its perfect reality. Merge into a pinion forest without disturbing a twig. Hear whispers of dry grass and cottonwood in a soft breeze. Marvel at vein pathways within a delicate leaf. Move, look, and listen slowly, gently, respectfully. Glide soundlessly through pristine white snow in an alpine canyon. Without raising a ripple, wade through still waters of a crystal clear stream. With grace and balance, traverse colorful bridges of smooth desert sandstone.

Find a comfortable vantage point, and recline in stillness and solitude. Gaze at spellbinding color: orange rock against a brilliant cobalt sky. Ponder the unbounded freedom of clouds, the brilliance of a distant star, and the interconnectedness of it all. Blend with profound beauty around you. Absorb hushed wonder of a surreal world. Lose yourself in the calm, comforting peace of nature, aware only of your slow, relaxed breathing. Allow yourself to grow calm with serenity which has always resided within you.

We are stewards and custodians, not ultimate owners with license to plunder. Let us keep Escalante, Bears Ears, and other wild places free from pervasive influences of technology. Let us provide future generations a planet where they may survive, find fascination, and thrive. They must be free to think, feel, and dream in remote, wild places of the Southwest. With the treasure of solitude, they can learn to survive and thrive in harmony without greed, mayhem, hate, or anger.

Will Walsh