Mountains Made of Sand

I suppose it’s appropriate that I begin this journal on the first day that I’ve spent in Sossusvlei, Namibia’s wonderfully desiccated national park filled with crimson dunes framing ephemeral saltpans. We spent the day exploring the desert, hiking up thousand-foot dunes, and then – seemingly against the law of gravity – running straight down them. As it neared midday, the sand became quite hot; it seeped relentlessly into my sandals and in between my toes, causing the most excruciating pain. This gave me no other option but to leap around until it stopped momentarily, affording me a fleeting moment of solace.

The most challenging dune that we hiked was said to be the largest in the world, at roughly 330 meters high and which took approximately 45 minutes to summit. Up so high and surrounded by such a vast sea of red, I truly felt as though I were dreaming.

......climbing and soaring, pausing to hear the wind whistling past the ridge, watching the sand beetles scurry across the path, barely leaving a trace behind them, feeling the warm sand swallow my toes with each step, and looking down into the valley of Dead Vlei, following my breath as I tiptoed along the ridge......

This was partly enjoyed in the company of good friends, partly on a silent journey apart from the group – a balance in which all of life should be experienced.

Now, I am back at the camp, relaxing and unwinding from the day. Today was good, really good. Like the sands, these days have been ephemeral, majestic, awe-inspiring, tough in surprising ways, sometimes unforgiving, always incomprehensively vast and profound. Now, as the sun sets and the desert's creatures prepare to rest in the comforting blanket of the still, cool evening, I crawl into my own sleeping bag and open the flap in my tent which provides a view of the stars outside.

Earlier today, I found this journal in a small shoppe outside the park entrance, just as my last journal was less than 10 pages from finishing. It was a lesson that things tend to appear when they need to – one shouldn’t stress too much over that point. If one has properly prepared herself, then she only need allow the universe to take care of the rest. I don’t know how or why it always works out this way, but such has been the case in my life for things both essential and mundane.

It was so lovely to see a group of individuals working towards the same summit at their own pace, together on the journey and yet separate at the same time. During my own journey, I often heard the echo of Mario whispering in my ear in the moments where I struggled:

“Those thoughts of hesitation and apprehension are poison! Get them out of your head! Your thoughts will always lead to corresponding action. Remember that.”