Practice can be a little like going on a desert journey–a very long, long desert journey.

We walk and walk and walk. The sun beats down on us. It’s hot and we are exposed to the elements. It’s hard to be steady with constantly shifting ground beneath our feet.

The landscape is vast and seemingly unending, unchanging. Sand dunes meld into each other.

Then, as if out of nowhere, a desert oasis appears. We stare in wonder, is it real or a mirage? Are our minds playing tricks on us?

Yet, our senses do not lie. We see the lush green, we are refreshed in its cool waters, we rest under the shades of palms, and drink our fill.

Sated, we are ready to go on, and happily continue the long journey home.

Photo: A surprise in our short desert walk from the Dome of Winds atop the old tombs to San Simeon’s ruins in Aswan in Upper Egypt. My friend Karina casting her shadow on the sand.