Someone wise once told me that you’ll find the good if you look for it, and you’ll find the bad if you’re looking for that. All the elements and levels of good and bad are all around us all the time. Some are unavoidable and can’t be overlooked, some are very subtle, either way, life has taught me, the most prominent (good or bad) will be what we are looking for…
I’ve always been a glass half full kind of girl… so I look for the good, the beauty, and the wonders around me. Yeah, that other stuff happens, but I try not to focus on it.
Out here in the western desert there’s what some might say a lot of harsh, dangerous, and foreboding land, and they’d be right. One has to have a deep respect for the land, its climate, and the animal life that’s here, but with that respect one can find the wondrous beauty that’s present here.
In the spring the desert blooms, okay, I think it’s beautiful all year round, but in the spring, it blooms. Some springs there are more blooms than others, but each year you get something. From the prickly pear cacti to the globemallow and even the sage brush, it blooms. This turns the desert into an almost treasure hunt for me. You literally ride along the barren stretches of sand and sagebrush and then a splash of color bursts out at you. Its easily missed, if you’re not looking for it, but if you’re looking for it, it’s an awesome treasure.
In my book, New Parish, the main character, Sarah, was riding across a barren stretch in her life till she found something different. At first, she didn’t know if it was something good or something bad. She was willing to do the work to find out, she was looking for the good, so she found it. She finds the beauty, love, and fulfillment she’d been longing for all her life… after several bits of conflict of course.
Excerpt from New Parish:
““I feel like I’ve stepped into a Louis L’Amour novel,” Sarah said looking around at all the cowboys and horses.
The cowboy band was playing and there was a square dance going, Mary said, “Come on let’s go!”
Sarah said, “No way, I’ve never dosey doed in my life. I don’t know how,” trying to excuse herself from this activity.
Mary grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the dance area in front of the wooden stage the band was on, “I’ll show you, it’s fun!” she said laughing.
Sarah had an inner dread that she was not only going to dosey doe for the first time, but that Mary had much more confidence in her abilities than she did.
Mary had her twirling around the grassy dance area in no time. They were both laughing at her many mistakes, and having so much fun. Then Sarah saw one of cowboys on the stage…”
Okay, so Sarah falls down and embarrasses herself, but she’s willing to look for the good in life and she finds it.
Hidden treasures are all around us if we are willing to look for the good, take a chance, and cultivate the courage to be brave enough to find them.
Below are pictures of some flowers and scenes I found on a recent adventure to the Honeymoon Trail:
