Joy, 
praise, 
jubilation — 
the saguaro cactus is made 
for anthropomorphizing. Just look how curious this one is about me! 
Saguaro National Park, divided into two sections on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona is a delight. 
It shows how the diversity of creation is astounding. 
Even within this desert stick-like cacti with red fruit, 
fat ones with yellow fruit, 
heart-shaped, pancake-flat cacti with extra-long thorns and 
green-trunked deciduous trees not only grew, but flourished!
Now that I live in a place of towering redwoods, I never expected to be so dwarfed by a cactus. Until I hiked through a saguaro forest, I thought the tallest ones were about the size of a person. Yet one was recorded at seventy-eight feet tall! 
Even the saguaros that looked short from a distance seemed to grow as I approached them. 
And many were older than me — 
with scars to prove it. 
But their perceived joy passed itself on to me as I walked about. 
I found myself lifting my arms, too, in praise.
Photos © Sondra Sula; with many thanks to Mike and Dan.
Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.
If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.
This wood has seen many years and weathered many storms. Its bark has worn away to reveal complex grains and textures.
Am I unlike others?
Am I the same? Our wounds look similar.
I may be scratched more deeply. Or maybe that’s you.
We wear our scars differently.
Our outer forms don’t look the same.
But here we are
sharing the same stretch of land.
We must find a way to get along, crowded together like this.
Or we’ll find holes in our hearts that can’t be filled.
Riddled … gasping.
How do we begin healing?
How do we fill the holes with goodness, kindness, compassion, understanding?
I’m not sure. But the end result may look something like this.
Sondra Sula's Blog: The Nature of Spirituality 