Obvious Grist and Hidden Stars

Summary

Laurie Perez, a novelist, reflects on finding beauty and inspiration in the stark reality of the desert landscape, using imagination to transform the mundane into the extraordinary.

Abstract

Laurie Perez, through her work as a novelist, applies a blend of imagination and truth to interpret the world around her. Whether faced with the allure of a desert bloom or the harshness of a sun-baked landscape, she chooses to perceive beauty, even in the most unassuming elements like a pebble in a dry seabed. Perez encourages viewers to see beyond the obvious, suggesting that every grain of longing for something better can transform the land. Her photographs, taken in the Sonoran Desert and at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona, complement her reflections on the hidden wonders that lie within seemingly ordinary scenes.

Opinions

Perez values the process of applying imagination to truth and truth to imagination as a means of understanding the world.
She is captivated by the beauty of desert blooms and believes in the importance of walking in beauty.
Perez advocates for looking beyond initial impressions to find love and mystery in landscapes that may not seem overtly pleasing.
She suggests that even a mundane pebble could hold a hidden star or serve as a portal to a beautiful thought, indicating her belief in the unseen vibrations and potential within the natural world.
Perez expresses gratitude for the audience's company on this journey of perception and appreciation of the desert landscape.

It’s a choice — to walk in beauty

As a novelist, I apply imagination to truth and truth to imagination. This is how I process the world, whether or not I’m in the act of writing.

On the Verge of Emergence by Laurie Perez — Desert Botanical Garden — Arizona

I’m as easily seduced by a flirty bloom as anyone should be — I want always to walk in beauty.

Bloom Seduction by Laurie Perez — Desert Botanical Garden — Arizona

But when the scene around me offers little that is overtly pleasing, I take it in exactly as it is — and then dig deeper within, learn to lavish it with love and mystery.

Gritty, Sun-baked Landscape — aka my back yard on the Rez, late in the afternoon — by Laurie Perez — Sonoran Desert — AZ

A single grain of longing for something better is in itself a dreamy change upon the land.

Seeing with New Eyes by Laurie Perez — Sonoran Desert — Arizona

Within the full spectrum of light pulse many vibrations our eyes and nervous system have not been wired to process. Who am I to say a stray pebble in a dry seabed of gritty, obvious dirt doesn’t contain some hidden star, a wished-for portal to a beautiful thought.

Thank you for taking this walk with me today.