Maroon 5 Rockin' The Vortex

 

 

Last weekend, Ed and I loaded the dog and our bikes into the car and headed out for a long weekend in Sedona, Arizona.  For those who are unfamiliar, it's an area located north of Phoenix and is renowned as a place of powerful vortex energy and stunning red rocks.

 

I hadn't been to this area since I was a kid, camping with our family and spending time fishing for trout.  The scenery is spectacular, with canyons and rocks changing mood as the sun rises and falls.  You can't help but have moments of awe as you crest a hill and see the valley open below with its display of natures palate...deep rusty reds, gold, green, white and vibrant blue skies. 

 

They say that the Native Americans knew that this was a place of transition.  It is known for concentrated pockets of energy that balance the yin/yang (female/male) energies and is powerful.  They knew that it wasn't a place to settle down as the energy was mighty, but rather a place to go on vision quest or sit in reflection.

 

We spent our time hiking and biking, our own version of having a time out from our everyday life.  But what was almost more striking than the landscape and energetic pull was seeing people hiking in these sacred areas and being completely disconnected from the natural experience.

 

As we were scrambling around Bell Rock, a vortex, we came across a young family.  The kids faces were slathered in sunblock, they were talking excitedly and the Dad was hiking with Maroon 5 (a top of the charts pop band) blasting out of his pocket, most likely from his iPhone.  Here we were, placing our hands on the rocks to feel the earthy, rough texture, stopping to take photographs and climbing to heights to enjoy the expansive vista.  And then we see this young family, out together, in nature, accompanied by the latest pop music hit.

 

I know it seems judgmental to be harking on this family as they were out and seemingly enjoying themselves.  But I was so shocked by the obvious disconnect.  Kids model our behavior and what they were being taught was that it was ok to hike and listen (without headphones) to loud music, in a sacred place.  It made me wonder about being so connected to our devices, sounds, noises and moments of instant gratification that we don't even realize the beauty that is sitting right in front of us.

 

I wanted to yell out, "Stop the music!  Stop talking!  Just sit for a minute and see what you notice and all the sounds that you're missing out on..."

 

But, I didn't.  I just turned to Ed and said, "wow...that's a good blog topic".  It held up the mirror for how many times I've missed the beauty that was sitting right in front of me because I was simply too preoccupied to notice.

 

Beauty is there...it's everywhere.  All of the time.  We just stop seeing it.  Hearing it.  Smelling and touching it.

 

Let's wake up and drink it in and save Maroon 5 for another time and place.