Desert Discovery

I went to Saguaro (sa-WAH-roh) National Park in Tucson, Arizona last week for the first time. 

At the park entrance there is a Visitor’s Center and a brief film to introduce you to the tree-like cactus species that are native to southern Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora and part of California. While viewing extraordinary photos and video of the desert landscape, a member of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation speaks to camera. 

He says they are taught from a young age that saguaros are powerful and sacred. From the creation story they learn the saguaro was a human being, put on the earth in the form of a cactus so we can begin to look at ourselves…and eventually learn to respect ourselves.  They say when you look at saguaros at dawn or dusk they begin to look like people. People in different forms and shapes doing different things. I decided to look at them this way. 

That day I saw saguaros that wave, hug, pray, twist or just stare. They grow baby arms, sustain injuries, and make peace signs. They stand alone or in groups. Some are erect while others are hunched over. They are with friends, family or among strangers. They are all of us. 

Hard to come up with a better mindshift than this. As the film closes we are invited to treat the saguaros as we would treat any other human being—with respect and dignity, care and love.