A Blue Domer

"Occasionally, acquaintances ask about my religious affiliation. I am a Blue Domer I tell them. Some simply shrug, dismissing this as clever wordplay or a fondness for metaphor. But it is true. The prodigious desert sky forms the vault under which I worship. Unexpectedly, birdsong rises from the land. It blends with the jubilations of crickets, the soaring and dipping phrases of coyotes, the rustling cottonwoods-in a polyphony that praises creation. On a blistering summer day, the shade of an overhand promises salvation. Eternity stares from the beady eyes of a lizard; the incense of cedar and sage soothes my lungs. Alcoves hide plunge pools of transforming power, rimmed by smooth rock like Romanic baptismal fonts. With the luminescence of stained-glass windows, evening inflames cliff bands and willow thickets. It alights on water gathered in potholes. The cathedrals and temples of sandstone and shale that are my destinations were already crumbling when believers still slept as unformed clay."
Where the Rain Children Sleep
By: Michael Engelhard

As I read this page out of Michael's book, I knew he was speaking directly to me. This is my religion. I might not call myself a Blue Domer, but this is exactly how I view my religion.

Also, if you want to read some great words about the Colorado Plateau check out that book. It is sold at Amazon.com if not at your local major bookstore.