
08/21/2025
"The desert under sun blinds you with light; under moon, it blinds you with silence."
Traveling through deserts is one of the most haunting experiences a dark traveler can endure. In daylight, the brutality of the sun overwhelms body and spirit. But at night, silence becomes the true oppressor. The expanse stretches endlessly, the stars hang low and merciless, and the quietness of sand feels louder than any storm.
This quote captures that uncanny stillness: a silence so deep that it erases not only sound but the sense of self. Many travelers have written of the desert as a place of spiritual awakening, but such awakening is born from discomfort, from the stripping away of illusions.
The desert, like other natural landscapes, reveals two truths: you are small, and you are temporary. To walk through it in darkness is to feel both of those truths pressing against you with every step.