In the endless accumulation of days, grief, work and tasks I had forgotten how to create intentional time for myself. In the winter of 2022 I spent five days alone in Joshua Tree. The time I spent in the desert was an intentional space for healing; a gift of pause and beauty for myself at the end of one of the most difficult years of my life.

Growing up, my grandparents lived in the desert of southern california and that vast and mountainous landscape has always held a particular magic for me. While logically I knew I could not simply go to the desert and be healed, emotionally I still felt a pressure to be transformed in this way. On those rocks I gave myself permission to leave the desert and still be hurting. It’s a very simple acknowledgment, an obvious one even, but that internal validation shifted everything. To allow myself this gift of rest, space and solitude yet recognize it was okay to still be grieving.