Belief shapes the human experience, weaving the fabric of our reality - but only a daring few embrace this truth enough to live lockstep beside principles that support it with fearless conviction. Even fewer look beyond the duty to fulfill such a cause in order that they might find the true meaning of all existence. It’s a circumspect thing to consider, as the clues are all around in nature itself, equally accessible to all, but not equally discovered. The calling of the wilderness acts as a testament to that conviction and as a challenge against the notion that belief isn’t simply a passive state, but rather a call to action - a spark that demands life be lived with ferocity, purpose, and sometimes in defiance of a world that attempts in vain to tame the ASCENT of both nature and the human spirit. It’s there, when that wilderness is sought out by the ardent seekers who embody such boldness, that the wild expanses stand as a series of beacons which call to them as if Ed Abbey himself had whispered a dare to their carnal soul and urged them to 'forge on wanderer, for the unknown is the point of it all.'

If we are all but subjects to the flow of time, then the desert acts as the prophet and proving ground which tests the faithful. It is a landscape that summons a depth of thought that may be foreign to those who gaze upon its vastness with virgin eyes, but one that becomes more familiar as one succumbs to its mysticism, letting the sands of time do their part to transform fear into focused resolve. In an inspiring sense, the desert is a magical FIELD OF DREAMS which wisps onward as a liminal reminder that even in the harshest of environments, life persists at its most precise, devoid of luxuries or shortcuts, while acting as a judge and jury to those who would errantly be tempted toward wasting anything held precious. To live with such conviction requires a rejection of the ordinary, but this territory doesn’t come without its contradictions - as is also true with belief itself - and it takes a rare individual to find the difference in the unyielding contention between opposites so that maybe they can combine to form a unified ethos. Magnificence and beauty are extracted out of the crucible in the process, but it's in the tiny moments of discomfort where the journey is forged, and lasting impressions on the soul are made.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, and dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” Abbey had a way of making the unfamiliar stylish and catalyzed others to view risk in relief of inner purpose. Like the Red Rocks themselves are admired by all, irrespective of their relationship to the desert, Abbey immersed himself in places like Sedona, letting the harshness strip away the superficial, in aims to reveal a path toward the divine. Sleeping under stars, drinking from springs, and wandering through mountain passes where the only law was nature’s. Taking time to MEANDER to the pace of the river, allowing direction to unfold alongside the rhythm of Mother Nature’s heartbeat. To the untrained eye, existing in this fashion would breed contempt for its brazen “escapism”. But to those devotees who invest themselves in this belief, it is a deliberate choice to confront existence on one’s own terms. The wilderness doesn’t coddle; it confesses. It mirrors who you are when the distractions of civilization fall away. In this there is a truth that many overlook: belief isn’t something held, but something lived. Every step taken in the desert declares this principle, disallowing the numbing forces of apathy to dictate life’s energy flow.

Ed saw the world not as a resource to be plundered, but as a sacred realm where the soul could find its truest expression. His belief wasn’t a quiet meditation; it was a rebellion, a refusal to let the machinery of the civilized world encroach on the pristine qualities of the motherly consciousness… To this day, such words roar like a canyon wind, urging us to reject complacency and embrace the wild heart of existence. In his stead we rail against “industrial tourism,” the commodification of wilderness that reduces profound landscapes to mere checklists for motorized tourists. These hollow actions rob people of authentic experience. “In the first place, you can’t see anything from a car,” he wrote, urging us to crawl, bleed, and immerse ourselves in the rawness of the world to truly see it. The environmental toll of such aimless idiots' ruinous influence on the landscape is punctuated with the trivial payoff of a photo, often staged for social platform likes, that captures a fleeting glimpse of menial prose; a gaping emptiness in the eyes of the countless husks who have traded sunlight for blue light, even as our star beats down from above, never able to scream loud enough to return their gaze to a more authentic source. Pointless images snapped in droves fuel a cycle of overtourism that commands a usurious tax on the land. The pursuit is ephemeral - posts fade in relevance within days - yet the damage lingers, with recovery timelines spanning decades in such harsh climates. This imbalance exposes a reckless disregard for nature’s fragility, prioritizing vanity over stewardship. Responsible tourism demands limits - capping visitors, enforcing trails, and prioritizing education - but the Instagram driven rush shows little sign of slowing. It’s not to say Ed would reject the idea of the modern world “enjoying” the outdoors in such a widespread way, but in the disconnected fashion which most reflect their behaviour in such sacred environments, Ed’s beliefs stand as a reminder that in order to truly be tuned in, one must remain UNTAMED.

Amidst a broader call for resistance, the edgeless sea of the desert acts as a de facto battleground for those who would dare to truly maintain its raw unadulterated state, where the soul of humanity is at stake. Ontological and iconoclastic, rooted in a belief that nature’s survival is inseparable from our own, the wilderness at large is both the teacher and the ally. It imparts meaning which is not found in accumulation - whether of wealth, status, or approval - but in alignment. So called "activism" to save landscapes is actually about saving the human capacity for wonder, for freedom, for a life unscripted by the demands of a mechanized world. To express belief in the wild is to express belief in the primal potential within us all. Individualism offers a challenge to be authentic, to let your beliefs burn brightly enough to light your way through the chaos of the world. To believe in something is to act on it, to let it shape your choices, your risks, your life. The desert doesn’t just inspire us to explore the vastness within ourselves; it demands we live up to its vastness, its indifference, its beauty. And in doing so, we take a LEAP of faith into a spiritual ballet with a conscious force that can influence and shape not just our own lived experiences, but those taking place everywhere, at all times, throughout the entirety of the cosmos.


PURCHASE Terra Incognita - Spiritile # 210 (feat. Ed Abbey) HERE: https://creativegateways.com/spiritile-210-terra-incognita/