Finding Beauty in West Texas

"But there is beauty here, the beauty of space and of freedom, and the beauty of the wind feeling its way along the brown, grassy swells and ruffling the yellow ridges." ~ A.C. Greene

People come to West Texas, or just drive through, and remark on how unattractive the area is. They want to see the tall mountains of Colorado or the sandy beaches of Florida. They want to see the geysers erupt in Yellowstone or the shifting colors of fall leaves in Massachusetts. We have a definition for beauty, and this is not it.

A Texas sunset

It's brown here in West Texas. For much of the year the ground is brown, the trees are brown and the grass is brown. It can be easy to get lost in the brown and even I sometimes forget how beautiful this land is. When dirt and dust blow in from the west, turning the sky a murky brown, I forget that green exists.

But right now it's green and beautiful and home.

I have come to love Texas in the fifteen years that I have lived here. Not in a patriotic, "we can secede whenever we want" way. Rather, I have come to love the wide open spaces and the wind-blown plains. Though the fierce wind can whip the dirt into the air and wrap my hair across my face, it carries with it a voice. When I close my eyes and listen to the wind gust through mesquite branches and over the grass, I hear my name echoed in the breeze. I feel at peace and content.

"I hear the wind across the plain, a sound so strong that calls my name. It's wild like the river; it's warm like the sun. It is here, this is where I belong." ~ Bryan Adams 

I want others to see this land through my eyes. For I believe it is a scenic place, full of wonder and beauty. There is beauty in West Texas; it's just hidden amongst the mesquite trees.

Riding alongside mesquite trees