I watch as two young men walk hand in hand down San Vicente Boulevard, immersed in their own private world. So easy is it to bash this town, to dismiss it as trite and given over to surface as opposed to substance.
So simple a scene cuts through all the hype and pretense as I not only consider a world where such is possible, but I am able to witness it first hand.
Spring is still a long way off; though here we're blessed with the warmth of a hazy sun today, much of the country is slushing through rain, snow and frigid cold. Here in this oasis, there is calm and an imperceptible cocoon of safety. The wounded are here, true, masking their pain in arrogance and pride in such numbers that at times one cannot see the beauty of the moment or that the very ointment for what ails us all and would sustain us exists, and is present and bountiful enough for us all.
The young couple amble out of my line of sight. It does not matter if I will ever see them again, if they are attractive or unformed and inarticulate in their ambitions and goals or engrossed in the mindless pursuit of that which is so fleeting in our lifetime.
There is the promise, such as I get when I climb to the top of Corona Heights and gaze down at The City, close my eyes and feel the gentle warmth of the sun on my skin. We are certain to be nurtured by the proof that we cry out for, and yet so often refuse to see is right at hand.
I might think myself alone, but I am not. You may look at the gym bunnies with their supposedly flawless physiques and feel hopelessly inadequate. We may be surrounded by so much illusion of the plentiful possessions of others and feel only the emptiness in our pockets. Truth is, we are all in equal measure filled with all that is truly needed to sustain us; to give us true worth and purpose. And to become aware of this gift we need merely be ready at a moment's notice to give it to those in need; for it comes from an inextinguishable source.
I need not be somewhere that I am not or with some one that I am not or have that which I think I do not possess to feel right and in the right place and alright with myself.
I can take a solitary stroll up the boulevard by myself with my thoughts and not be alone and be happy. I need only take a step, breath, smile, be aware... of the colors and sounds and all that surrounds me. I will share this with anyone I see who does not have it, for there is no impediment to anyone being able to receive it if they want it. It is my duty to give it away in order to keep it, to be willing to share it in order to have it always with me...
So simple a scene cuts through all the hype and pretense as I not only consider a world where such is possible, but I am able to witness it first hand.
Spring is still a long way off; though here we're blessed with the warmth of a hazy sun today, much of the country is slushing through rain, snow and frigid cold. Here in this oasis, there is calm and an imperceptible cocoon of safety. The wounded are here, true, masking their pain in arrogance and pride in such numbers that at times one cannot see the beauty of the moment or that the very ointment for what ails us all and would sustain us exists, and is present and bountiful enough for us all.
The young couple amble out of my line of sight. It does not matter if I will ever see them again, if they are attractive or unformed and inarticulate in their ambitions and goals or engrossed in the mindless pursuit of that which is so fleeting in our lifetime.
There is the promise, such as I get when I climb to the top of Corona Heights and gaze down at The City, close my eyes and feel the gentle warmth of the sun on my skin. We are certain to be nurtured by the proof that we cry out for, and yet so often refuse to see is right at hand.
I might think myself alone, but I am not. You may look at the gym bunnies with their supposedly flawless physiques and feel hopelessly inadequate. We may be surrounded by so much illusion of the plentiful possessions of others and feel only the emptiness in our pockets. Truth is, we are all in equal measure filled with all that is truly needed to sustain us; to give us true worth and purpose. And to become aware of this gift we need merely be ready at a moment's notice to give it to those in need; for it comes from an inextinguishable source.
I need not be somewhere that I am not or with some one that I am not or have that which I think I do not possess to feel right and in the right place and alright with myself.
I can take a solitary stroll up the boulevard by myself with my thoughts and not be alone and be happy. I need only take a step, breath, smile, be aware... of the colors and sounds and all that surrounds me. I will share this with anyone I see who does not have it, for there is no impediment to anyone being able to receive it if they want it. It is my duty to give it away in order to keep it, to be willing to share it in order to have it always with me...
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