The Title

The title of my blog is a reflection of my residence and employment in Zion National Park. I am no longer residing in the park but I would like to keep the title anyways. And this is why.

In no exact location, but within the red walls of the canyon, a piece of my heart and soul is contained. Maybe that's a little dramatic, but not entirely.

Now that I'm in the north, I still look out the window expecting to see a red canyon, but instead I see hues of blue, green, and grey. The skies are nearly always cloudy, and the roads are paved a dull black.

When I leave my apartment, I see slick, icy roads, not the over-arching cottonwoods and familiar canyon walls. I loved that scene. I loved going across the street to the babbling desecrated Virgin River.

For me, Zion National Park symbolizes everything that is right in the world, everything that is wonderful, everything that I aspire to do and to become. But it also symbolizes what I most ardently desire to never become, the lifestyle I am determined to never live, the person I will never be, the actions, however great the temptation, I will never take. Zion was in many ways, to use a biblical phrase, a fiery furnace. I know what I am made of. My weaknesses are evermore apparent, but so are the things I appreciate and what/who I love. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; a time of prosperity, and a time of famine." Dickens, I think I understand you better than I ever thought I could.
Zion is not just a park, but a place of spiritual development. Which is something I plan to do my whole life; that is why the title will remain the same. So here's to Zion: To growth and damnation, to prosperity and poverty, to hope and despair, to life and death, and everything in between.

So here's to the hope for the future, and the lessons from the past.