so close / joshua tree
Moonrise in the Cottonwood Campground at Joshua Tree. About 10:15pm.
“The desire to go home that is a desire to be whole, to know where you are, to be the point of intersection of all the lines drawn through all the stars, to be the constellation-maker and the center of the world, that center called love. To awaken from sleep, to rest from awakening, to tame the animal, to let the soul go wild, to shelter in darkness and blaze with light, to cease to speak and be perfectly understood.”
Joshua Tree National Park, and the areas surrounding it, will always hold a special place in my heart. A little more than a year ago, I flew to Palm Springs from Boston for a field research project. I took the opportunity then to take a weekend trip home, and it was during the drive from Twentynine Palms to Orange County that I realized I needed to move home. I wrote about it here, in the context of one of my favorite movies, Lady Bird.
I returned to Joshua Tree this past weekend to camp for the first time since returning to California. I was accompanied by a dear friend I met a few months ago through sheer luck and the courage of sharing. We reflected on shared experiences and existential questions. I have been constantly reminded of the power of the internet, social networks, and the access we can have to people when we're open to vulnerability. Since sharing my piece, You Were Too Young to Remember, in November, I've connected with a wide variety of people, many of whom would not be in my life in the same capacity had I not had a split second of reckless fearlessness and thrown a little piece of my story into the world. This blog has also been an ongoing exercise of vulnerability, and I appreciate all the ways that my ramblings on here have fostered or enriched conversations in my daily life. I'm still constantly surprised by the various people in my life that have found a way into my little home on the internet, but if you're here, thank you.
