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Never comfortable at heights when falling is a distinct possibility, I soon found myself in deep trouble. There was no presence or stable footing in the always moving, vertical sand slope that I was attempting to climb. For every step that I struggled to take I slid back down almost the same distance. A few times I was barely able to stop what felt like a freefall. My heart was pounding out of my chest from the exertion as well as the intense fear that I was feeling. I made the mistake of glancing down to the bottom of the steep incline that I was ascending and gasped at how high I actually was, perched atop a constantly moving vertical wall of sand. Above me I saw the remains of a little tree that had germinated somehow on the slope. The area around it was a bit more level than most of the climb. I fought my way up to it and gratefully managed to sit down next to it. I was shaking and frantic and terrified and I screamed for Daniel over and over again. He never heard. He never came to assist me. From some deep, deep place within me I summoned the courage to continue up the hill alone. I stepped as fast as I could trying to keep my feet from sinking into the sand too much as this was what caused me to backslide. After a supreme effort I made it to the top. I was breathless from my effort, shaking from my fear. When I peeked over the edge and saw how far above our camp I was it astounded me that I had managed this climb alone, especially while in such a state of fear and trepidation. In that instant I was somehow shifted. My self trust grew astronomically. I came to know that pushing past my fear yielded fantastic gifts and self-knowledge. I could feel that this experience had somehow changed me on a extremely deep level. My perspective shifted to what was around me and I nearly fell back down the hill in awe of what I was seeing. A huge white arch stretched out before me, rising above the sand like a sentinel. Access to it appeared difficult, and I still could not see Daniel. I suspected that when he saw the arch he must have spent no time looking back before he made his way to it. It was so spectacular that I couldn't blame him. I had a few moments to deal with what felt like abandonment issues as I stood in the shadows of the great arch. I appreciated how Daniel normally always looked out for me when we traveled. The universe had really created quite the set up for me to integrate many issues that day through my experiences in the silent and stark desert sand. I faced more climbing to ascend to the area underneath the arch. I was beginning to feel quite exhausted, yet I faced the challenges of the climb and hoisted myself up into the arch. Daniel was there meditating, and I silently joined him. As I sat down I saw that the arch was made up of some sort of white rock that seemed like hard limestone and that it was impregnated with many small geodes and crystals. What a true gem of a place this was! I chuckled inwardly when I realized that my personal lessons and growth had occurred in the midst of such a completely natural, magical and awe-inspiring location. The universe smiled on me that day.
After a relatively easy descent from the arch using an alternate route, we enjoyed our lunch and then continued our journey through the sand to our next campsite in the The After-hours revelry was offered at a near-by camp, though we found ourselves too exhausted to consider it. The rest of our crew went off to enjoy some fun and libations with the other tour guides and their groups. We settled into our blankets and braved another shivery night in the cold, though again, the experience was worth the discomfort. The dawn was to prove absolutely spectacular, as the prevailing color haloing the stark, white formations was a soft blue that brought in the feel of the seashore.
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