Writing Into the Desert, Indeed

I was very lucky to get to be part of a remarkable writing/yoga workshop at Ghost Ranch with Mark Doty and Emily Hyland. Besides being surrounded by heartful, wonderful writers in a wildly evocative setting, the workshop was incredibly rich because of the wealth of poems, exercises, and conversations that Mark and Emily offered. I know that for me, there was a breaking-open that I have needed for a long time, one that is allowing me to till new ground in my work as well as in my life. What I need to learn next is how to create some of that magic in my regular life - we can't necessarily get away when we need to get away. But can I linger with the remarkable when it presents itself in my day-to-day life, not just when it's in the form of a stunning mesa at dawn out my bedroom window? Can I make a place and a time where I can try to really listen to what the silence around me wants to tell me, without having to be in the middle of an old paddock in the high desert? Can I read one poem a day closely, with a new eyes, to let it unpetal itself and teach me? Can I meet with another poet and share this joy? I have a lot to learn, but I also know, thanks to this workshop, what I need to try to keep alive for myself going forward.