Under The Desert Sun

We tend to think inspiration requires distance: an international plane ticket, a place we've never been before, something far enough away to feel like an escape. Paris for perspective, Italy for relaxation, somewhere coastal for a sense of balance. But this past weekend, standing in the middle of Southern Utah – surrounded by canyons, dust, and stars – I remembered that wonder doesn’t always live elsewhere. Sometimes it’s been here all along, in America's backyard, waiting for us to notice.

Everything slows down in the desert. There’s no Wi-Fi, no rush, no background noise. And somewhere between the golf-carting and the stargazing, I felt something I hadn’t in a while: awe. The kind that, like any great sunset, the photos don’t come close to capturing. Southern Utah is almost otherworldly: sandstone cliffs, endless skies, and light that shifts by the minute, turning the whole landscape into something quietly spectacular.

At Amangiri, it wasn’t just the landscape that was awe-inspiring (though that helps); it was the people, the quiet, the feeling of being fully present. The kind of stillness that makes you really pay attention – to beauty, to connection, to how small you feel in the best possible way. 

It turns out awe doesn’t always live in faraway places. Sometimes it’s right where you are – in the desert, in a familiar laugh, or in the rare feeling that everything is exactly as it should be.