3.2.23 // The High Desert

The high desert feels like Home.
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There is only one other place in North America that feels similar to Bend, in that it makes my body, mind, and spirit feel "at home." Bishop, California, another high desert.
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It's a trend I didn't notice before moving here...
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There is an energy that buzzes through the air in the high desert, a breeze that playfully dances down from the mountains to ruffle the hair of people in town, a language that is unspoken but if you listen to the wind in the trees you can catch glimpses of the sentiments teased. There is a sweetness to the hearts of the people who live here, a kindness in their souls that feels welcoming and whole.
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I wanted to be a PNW rain lover and devoted ocean drifter, but I am just not. And that is ok. I do not love endless rainy weeks and small respites of summer heat, and I do not need the ocean to feel grounded (I love it and respect it), but the big mountains and the high desert are my grounding, my calling, and my language.
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I thrive in the sunshine that beams down my nose, I relish in that sweet electric buzz on the breeze, and I bound through the midst of night under a constant mosaic of the brightest stars I have ever experienced inside city limits.
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It's only been a couple of months in Bend and I've already learned so much... Perhaps the most important lesson is that the magic of the high desert is my true spiritual home.