Ancient desert life’s inspiration: shield you responsibilities, dust yourself and rise again.h

When dust storms rise on the horizon, the desert dwellers have simple ancient practices to survive. While no man should give up his fight or his purpose, desert dwellers know that when the storm comes, you can’t run from it, you can’t hide, and you can fight it. Respect it.

The man in the desert with his camel prepares. He finds the highest ground. The beating of the sand and dust will be more brutal on lower grounds. He sits the camel down and puts a hand on him. This reassures the camel that his companion, the caretaker is with him. The man wraps clothing around his nose, secures his head covering, and then spreads a thick blanket on the camel and himself – different tribes have a different name and different kind of weave that identifies the tribe or region. We call it Chavda, a derivative of shade or shelter. It is white, heavy, and has a red-maroon border.

The rising dust storms first send out winds and large sand particles fly in your face. Then the wind picks up. The sand becomes finer and finer. The sand becomes dust. These fine particles pierce the skin like needles. In fierce storms, if you try to stand against the wind, just like sandblasting, you will get skinned and earn yourself a massive rash. Taking shelter is a wise choice. The desert man’s responsibility is to take care of his camel. A man’s responsibility is to also care for his obligations and duties.

The inspiration we can take is that sometimes in life, we do nothing to brew a dust storm. It is an act of Mother Nature. All we can do is collect our responsibilities and calm them down until the storm has passed. All the while keeping our breathing and vision clear of the dust. After the storm passes, dust off, take inventory of whatever might have flown away in the storm and rise again on the journey. One step at a time.

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