Being a beautiful, warm sunny morning made staying depressed an effort. Countless little birds were singing and flitting about as we walked down the trail to the beach, the sun warmed us, a quick stop to chat with friends about the eagles circling overhead and swans hiding down past the breakwater did too. Meeting up, as we often do, with other morning dog walkers, petting their excited dogs, them petting mine, talking for a moment about real things always helps clear out the grey and open up the day.
As we walked along the beach, i noticed that the seagulls weren't overly depressed about the idiocy of the Californian voting choices, but they were interested in a dead salmon that had washed up on the beach from the nearby creek that's filled with them returning home right now. My mood continued to brighten as my body warmed up. Off came my jacket, then my ball cap. Up in a tree nearby an eagle screeched at us.
A 'culture' is group who share many values. Values are difficult to define but taken together they form a cultural immune system that agrees with/ accepts those 'truths' that fit in its template and rejects or doesn't even see the others. Looking at the county by county map above [larger version] i see that there are areas of California that share my values and a large area that doesn't. i've almost always felt like 'a stranger in a strange land'. Today, at first i did too, but, as the day unfolds, i'm realizing there are many others who share my values, my culture, they just live at the beach.
Grow your own, eat as little processed food as possible and go for a long walk with your dog every morning...the 3 essentials for brightening a grey day.
