Anyone who knows me very well, knows I don't usually attempt landscapes. But it's the Arizona thing, you know? And the Evolutionary Christianity series of conversations with Michael Dowd. Michael and his wife Connie call this continent of ours, "NORA". And they talk a lot about being in love with NORA and loving her more each day. They've traveled over the continent of North America for 9 years now, and their love for NORA seems to grow by leaps and bounds.
I think it's naming the land that seems to have done it for me. Realizing that this awesome planet is alive and constantly changing, that it's part of a system that's been evolving over billions of years--vastly beyond my comprehension--but the personal naming of the Earth delights me and helps me see with fresh eyes her beauty.
This particular scene was near Tombstone, Arizona. So different from the snow-laden pine trees of the Tonto National Forest where I had "homed" for a week, and still different again from the incredible red rocks of Sedona, this little patch of NORA filled me with such peace as I drove, and a sense of deep humility. Of course this little painting will never capture the softness of the landscape, the gentle rolling of the hills between Sonoita and Tombstone, but it can remind me that NORA loved me well that day. And she still does. Earth is my home. I can't believe how long it's taken me to begin to really, really see her all around me and to be so grateful for giving us birth and loving us well. I am a child of NORA. She is my Mother, as surely as Millie is my mother. She is holy and sacred. May we treat her with care and dignity in her old age.
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