My Living Stories
By Shidasha Silva
Start your journey
As we navigate through life, it's important to remember that everyone's journey is different. While it's easy to compare ourselves to others, it's crucial to value our own unique story and history. Everyone holds a piece of the universe of what it means to be human and what it means to tend to the soul.
Meditations at Antelope Island
Randy’s Story
On a hot summer day on the last day of July, Randy had a challenging day so to deal with the events of this day he decided to go for a hike up to Frary Peak on Antelope Island. Antelope island is only a few miles away from where Randy lives.
It was getting late in the day. He was hoping to make it near the peak by the time the sun set. While hiking he always saw different types of wildlife. There were bison, mule deer, and big horn sheep. He was hoping to see some big horn sheep. Before getting to the last portion of the trail before summiting the peak, he saw exactly what he hoped to see, a small herd of about 4 or 5 big horn sheep. They were on the other side of the mountain from where he was hiking, just wandering around. So he stopped and took pictures. It was so beautiful to see that kind of wildlife. He made it to the peak and could see the skyline of Salt Lake City, the high rises and the whole Wasatch mountain range. Out to the west was Stansbury island and the Oaker mountains.
It was here that he thought about the Savior and how he travelled from place to place. That’s one thing he had been thinking of often, that unlike himself, Jesus never had an office. He was always out with the people and with his disciples. Then there were times when he was alone. We all need that sometimes, he thought, just some time alone to think. It’s good to get away and be in our own world and ponder things. He thought about god everyday. His mornings always started with praying to God. He would go down to his office, kneel down and talk and then just listen.
As was the experience out on Antelope Island one could look to the sky and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a bright white cloud appeared. It just burst into being. A moment later it was gone, it entirely disappeared. Then all of a sudden, it reappeared. Randy took out his binoculars and looked into the cloud. What he discovered was that there was no cloud and instead a flock of white pelicans. When the sun hit their white feathers the cloud came into being, when they dipped their wings to expose the black on the underside of their wings or their shaded side, the cloud disappeared. He thought about how beautiful and fleeting everything in life was, how beautiful and fleeting God seems.
The sun didn’t begin to set until he was hiking down and it was unexplainable. The sunshine on the mountains was beautiful. There weren’t any clouds but the air glowed red. Being up there lifted his spirits and made him feel a lot better. He reflected upon past experiences, particularly similar hikes like King’s Peak and Mount Timpanogas and even Moon lake, Mirror Lake and Jordan Lake in the Unitas. He also thought about life and the issues he was dealing with and what he would do when he got back home. Being there helped give him more clarity.
He knew he had to get down fairly quickly as it was getting darker and he didn’t have a flashlight or headlamp. As he was coming down the trail he saw a big black thing in the middle of the trail. It was a porcupine. He chuckled then looked down and thought, I’m going around.
All the plants were glowing in the sunlight. When he first started volunteering on trail patrol on the island he would take different pictures of the plants. There were bright yellow and bright purple flowers. There were these really vertical, tree shaped, plants with yellow flowers. He thought they were probably Mullen. There weren’t many trees, but sometimes when he was hot he would go and sit under the one Lone Tree. Many people would hike and ride their horses to this tree to sit in the shade. There was even a horse rail to tie the horses under the tree so they would also have shade. He thought about how the fun part about going to Antelope Island was because of these unique features. Besides Lone Tree there is Elephant Head, a rock formation. You can look out and see the head in the rock formation in the mountain. It extends out into the water of the Great Salt Lake and looks just like an elephants trunk. Then there’s Buffalo Point where you’ll usually see bison. He knew the wildlife manager for the island who would invite him to help when they had work to do during the bison round up and working the bison to check each one individually.
On January 6th, this year 2024, the Saturday after the new year, biologists and wildlife personnel went out to capture the big horned sheep to tag them so they could be tracked and check in their health. They dropped a net over them from a helicopter, then tied their feet together and put a blindfold on them so they would calm down and lay completely still. They would then be flown by helicopter to a designated location where the biologists and wildlife officers weighed them, then laid them on the table and checked them. He thought about how gentle the wildlife rangers were with the sheep as they performed their tests. They showed a lot of care. When they untied the feet and took the blindfold off the rangers backed off. Then all of a sudden, the giant big horn sheep would leap to its feet and run away. He remembered one running off in the wrong direction, heading towards the lake, towards the Garr ranch instead of the mountain. Eventually he will turn around and head back, he thought. It was definitely time for him to get back home.
Let Me Introduce Myself
I am an avid writer and reader. I have a Masters in Fine Arts for Creative Writing from the University of Utah, and I would love to use my skills to help people write their own unique, living legacy.
How I Work
Each person and story is so unique, so we will start with a phone conversation to discuss different options for where to begin as well as an hourly fee based on your project. We can focus on a short story, a long story, thoughts, or a series of short stories—even poetry! We will meet in person to get the story down. Then I will write the story down, share it with you, and change whatever needs to be changed. Your family and friends are sure to enjoy all you wish to offer them.
