Out of the Blue: Impossible not to be thankful in this setting
Happy Thanksgiving, Laguna.
America will consume 46 million turkeys as part of the holiday. That’s nearly as much as the population of South Africa. Or Spain. Where do all those turkeys come from? It’s an amazing number to ponder. We don’t have to hunt them. They are somehow raised, fattened and distributed throughout our complex food system.
It’s really a gluttonous affair, and with those big dry birds as the centerpiece, it’s a reminder of our dominion. But that’s not what we are thankful for. We’re thankful for the beautiful bounty Mother Earth provides. What a fantastic organism she is, capable of constant regeneration and nourishing of Earth’s creatures.
Here in Laguna we have an especially tasty version of planet Earth, the nexus of land and sea, a melding of blue and green. Our undulating hillsides and canyons send green ripples to the horizon. Our cobalt seas sparkle and refresh the eyes at every glance.
The offshore breeze and intense California sun give our coastline a vivid palette of scents and hues. Sun-kissed? We are sun-caressed. So addled by her touch that it’s hard to concentrate or be inside or work at all.
You Instagram and Facebook your sunset pics, yearn to stop strangers on the street just to hug them and find yourself saying “wasn’t today amazing?” again and again. And it was. Once again a stellar autumn with warm days, luminescent sunsets and crisp, starry nights. We even got to bust out our stylish outerwear.
The crowds have diminished and the town is ours again. We brace for winter the best way we know how: We surf, stand-up paddleboard, swim, or flee to Palm Springs.
Laguna, you are your best in autumn. Stop blushing. When other regions harden and trees shed their leaves, you remain a consistent 70 degrees and keep laughing. Nothing can touch you. You’re so gorgeous — day after freaking day. Stop it already. You’re killing me.
Our supermarkets are regularly stocked with fresh food. Our restaurants offer a panoply of ethnic offerings. Trash gets picked up every week. Streets get paved even when they are perfectly fine. Drinking water is still running freely and being used to wash and water everything. At the turn of a dial, it even gets hot.
All but a few of us have roofs over our heads. Yes, we are living in a wonderful place at a wonderful time.
Be thankful, my friends. When we become heated and angry and apoplectic over a parking garage, a live-work space or permanent supportive housing, and this is where we choose to battle, we are indeed among the luckiest, most privileged souls on earth.
And if Thanksgiving serves as a reminder, if it in any way helps you recoil from the mundane mind traps of day-to-day existence, from traffic to the cost of living to material attachment to your crazy family to suffering over the impermanence of life, and instead exalt in the thrill and magic of every single breath of every single day, then maybe, the sacrifice of 46 million genetically modified birds is worth it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
BILLY FRIED is the chief paddling officer of La Vida Laguna and member of the board of Transition Laguna. He can be reached at billy@lavidalaguna.com.