While I was reading “Landscapes of the Sacred”, I came across a chapter where I had wished we had written a reflection essay about. It was a short chapter regarding a naturalist named Edward Abbey. His only goal in life was to fully understand the desert. It was a daring and daunting task ahead. We all know what the desert has to offer. It brings sunlight, heat, indifference, and closeness to death. An individual who experiences time in the desert contains a jolt of intensity in that period of their life. All these things aside, what, in fact, does the desert mean and stand for? Abbey writes, “Something about the desert inclines all living things to harshness and acerbity. It strips reality of any easy meanings. It absolutely refuses to explain itself. Yet this very indifference is the incongruous attraction that desert exerts on the imagination.” It seems the desert experience for Abbey is unlike he’s ever encountered in his life. It is a dangerous and grueling experience he’s encountering, but he feels a sense of accomplishment and intrigue as he processes his experiences through his mind. In some way, Abbey’s feelings about the desert relate to what James Franco (playing the part of Aron Rolston) felt in 127 Hours. I think Rolston liked the test he faced, and he wasn’t afraid to die. Although it was different circumstances, Rolston had to adapt in the ditch he was trapped in, much like how Abbey had to adapt to the brutal environment of the desert. Both men live strongly after their experiences of nature’s devil.
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