Shifting

It's been a while since I have been in Vegas, teaching. The last time I was here the sun rose directly in front of my hotel balcony. The sunrise position has shifted significantly since then. I know this is due to the fact that it's the middle of summer and the sun is always shifting but it is the size of the shift that has caught my attention this morning. The shift is all I can notice. I could barely take a picture without falling out the window.

I always experiences shifts when I am here. The desert does this to me. It strips off anything that is inessential, forcing me to contemplate the uncontemplatable. Maybe it's the heat that wears me down. The desert is ruthless. Only the strong survive here. On my walk this morning, I came across a beautiful tree. It had lovely fern-like leaves; they were very green and very lush looking. However, upon a closer look, I discovered that the branches out of which the leaves were growing were covered in big, sharp thorns. These thorns obviously serve the purpose of protecting the tree from other creatures coming by and eating the precious source of photosynthesis for this tree. A living paradox. Soft, lush beauty with a built-in protection mechanism. If perception is projection then I'd say that it's time for me to develop the same internal equilibrium as the tree. Can we be soft and open while at the same time creating enough internal protection to allow ourselves to fully flourish?