Good Morning,

Thank you first follower. Whoever you are, you made my day.

When plants flower in the desert, it’s an event. My neighbor Jay has modest plantings in front of her house, and considering she doesn’t have running water, they are just that more dear. The cactus have been working toward these blossoms all along, a continual process, and yesterday morning, there they were. “C’mon hummingbirds, we’re the ones you want!” There are some iris nearby but they don’t have buds yet.

Santa Fe New Mexico draws seekers. It also draws gurus, shamans, and healers. Which came first I do not know. The validity of the claims, some quite extravagant made by the second group? You got me. Santa Fe is a special place. The open landscape, the sky, the light all contribute to an experience or a set of feelings people often describe as expansive. I am one of those people. To live here is a gift each and every day.

A few years ago, the self proclaimed “Redneck Hindu,” Robert Ransom Odom had a regular column in a local weekly paper and wrote (as best as I can recall) about his experience at a nearby pueblo ruin. It was set on the edge of a mesa with sweeping views of a valley and river. He was particularly taken with the remains of a ceremonial kiva, and prompted readers to find such a place of their own, a special place with powerful good mojo. We all need such a place to reconnect with the universe, to recharge our batteries he said.

My feeling is we need to be able tap into the powerful good mojo wherever we are. I sent him an email to this effect, citing Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe’s commercial strip as an example. Flanked by strip malls, fast food joints and gas stations, the road is a total of eight lanes wide, and except for a brief window of respite in the wee hours, it carries a constant snarl of traffic. In a word, it is madness. A hundred years ago it was a stretch of relatively wild untouched land. No doubt it was beautiful then. It is the challenge to see it as beautiful today, and immersed in it to be able to connect with all the universe’s good mojo.

He got right back to me, and this is not a direct quote, “… if you can pull this off… you’re doing better than me!” I respect Robert Ransom Odom for his candor. And have I been able to pull this off? Well, survival of the fittest through defensive driving is Job Number One on Cerrillos Road. But when I’m sitting at a red light I have glimpses of it. It is there.

Gordon Bunker