Last week, I was fortunate enough to escape the Midwest for a visit to Tucson, Arizona. My son was the host for four days of sun and eighty-degree temps. We took advantage of the climate and spent much of the time outdoors. My son had learned a good much about the local flora and fauna, so we spent a good deal of the outside time hiking the trails around Tuscon.
The hikes went mostly through the Sonora Desert, which more or less surrounds Tucson. But that makes it sound like the desert surrounded Tucson at some point. Not the case of course. Tucson was put into the desert, mostly by the miners and prospectors in the 1880’s.
Like a lot of folks, I thought the desert didn’t have much to offer. It is called the desert, after all. I was quite wrong. In fact, the desert if full of life. Life isn’t easy with water being so scare so all the living things in the desert are quite concerned with water. All plant life evolved to attain, maintain, and preserve the very small amount of water that is given to it.
The most famous plant in this ecosystem is of course the cactus. In the Sonora desert the most famous cactus is easily the Saguaro, followed by the prickly pear. If you’ve seen a postcard from Tucson, or Tombstone, or Instagram post, then you’ve seen one of these. Personally, I like the Ocotillo or the Manzanilla. The wonderfully named Brittlebush and Shin Daggers held my interest. As did the jumping Cholla and the giant Organ Pipe Cactus. I also liked the Ironwood and Mesquite trees. I did find the Barrel cactus, which always faces south to be interesting. I liked the Agave and Yucca as well. So, you see, there was a lot of life to see in the desert.
But, for me the beauty of it all can be found in the meaning one sees everywhere. Life is hard because there is very little water. Almost no water, in fact. And water means life. All the plants and animals know that. Everything our friend the cactus does is meant to collect, store, preserve, and defend water. Every thorn on every cactus in all the desert has meaning, intention. Each and every thorn- and there are countless millions in the desert, is there for a well-constructed reason and purpose: water.
I found these plants to be beautiful. Nothing pointless, wasteful, or inane about them. They exist with quiet intent. Every thorn on every cactus has meaning.Nature has no room time or space for inanity and that is evident everywhere things grow, but not always as clearly visible as in the desert.
Our devices provide us constant access to the inane. There is no thorn in the promise of ease. Siri has no thorn. Instacart has no thorn. Door dash has no thorn. Sports talk radio has no thorn. I could go on. But my point (ha, ha) is that I would rather live in that so called desert that to live in our green and rolling fields of inanity. What is easy for us isn’t always the best for us, as Marcus Aurelius said centuries ago in Meditations. If there is no thorn to the result, is it really worth it? The time is going to pass anyway.
Look for the thorns in things we spend time doing. Find them. That is where the meaning and beauty wait.
Coffee Novelist 