Chaco Canyon Is My Touchstone

I love to get up early and relax and enjoy the quiet and the rustling in the Chaco Canyon campground even before my fellow campers awaken and begin their day. I love mornings - the quiet, the birds, the still air, the space to simply Be - before the rush of the day.

How I love this place. I feel loved. I feel safe. I belong here, as G.B. Cornucopia, my ranger friend, keeps telling me. He knows I'll keep coming back, because I can't stay away. I need to be here. I reconnect with ME here - I remember who I am, at my deepest level.

And Chaco can bring up my shit too, allowing me to see it and make choices, make change.

Chaco Canyon is my touchstone that I can always come to, figuratively and literally, when I need to remember who I am, for it is too easy to forget when I get caught up in “life.”

And then I bring that feeling with me when I leave and return to Southern California, where I live my life.

The morning quiet helps me to remember Chaco. I remember what I learn. And each time, I live my life a little closer to what is true for my deepest self.

(Photo: Casa Rinconada sunrise)