Where I Have Been

“Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.”

- Georgia O'Keeffe

The land here feels ancient. Humans have inhabited this high desert landscape for generations upon generations, and my feet can feel it in the ground of the Chamisa Trail Loop, the red brick floor of the rental house, and the broken concrete walkways of the Cathedral Square. We have walked almost twenty miles over the last two days - some by accident in the woods beyond Tesuque Creek - and are soaking in the sight of the low mountains dusted with snow, the adobe buildings and the turquoise jewelry, as well as the smell of junipers and spicy red sauce. 

The desert southwest has called me before, in the southern Arizonan desert and the mountains outside of Tucson. The appeal of the scrub brush and the low structures here surprises me, as I have always sought out the northern mountains or ocean beaches before. Places can reach out to you and weave tendrils of belonging through your heart, but I have never thought about the relationship between place and what one can do with it until I saw the O'Keeffe quote on the wall of her Museum here in Santa Fe. What do I do with the places I have been?

In this place I have hiked semi-frozen trails, eaten New Mexican food, window-shopped, purchased presents for friends and family, enjoyed lengthy personal conversations, gotten lost in the woods and rescued by Roman the gas man, looked at art, and soaked up a new atmosphere. Tomorrow we plan to work on a Habitat for Humanity site from dawn to dusk and contribute something back to this area that is hosting us. And as my thoughts turn back toward home, I wonder what I have done with our home place outside of Denver, and what more I have to do.