A Time Capsule a Drift, in the Pacific

We all know the hardest thing about going on a vacation is returning to a desk full of work. It’s back to school business, office assignments and programs a plenty! If I may quote Soul II Soul, “ back to the here and now!” still if you were to ask me about my summer, I’d answer incredibly inspiring and impactful. It was entirely awesome to witness a part of this Nation that I have only ever read about. I got to behold a landscape so pristine that was set against a backdrop of farm land much like my formative years in Hershey, PA (Salute to all the Milts from coast to coast) never the less the west coast had eluded me until this past July. California’s true wonder rests in its geographical composition. The state of California extends from breath taking cliffs that rise above crystalline nearly turquoise pools. The Pacific pushes and sweeps powerful waves against massive boulders. The coast of Northern California is prime subject material for a painter’s definitive piece. Envelop your senses in a shore line that boasts an endlessly vibrant pallet. Steady your sight on vegetation lush enough to command your attention. Get lost in glorious sunsets then be baptized by the invigorating mist that travels across the bay. There is a thriving Agrarian Society that has sustained much of the protected undeveloped land. Produce that travels a brief distance from the ground to your plate bursts with fresh flavor. Horticulture of so many varieties including what some states have deemed as a controlled substance becomes a marketable resource. Furthermore the population progresses as they conserve, develop, run farms, businesses and raise their families. This cooperative with residents and municipalities affords Sonoma and neighboring counties with the ability to maintain its organic Beauty. Stepping into a region that is both suspended in time and light years ahead of metropolitan trends will force you to plant your feet firmly in the present moment. My county of residence for nearly 2 decades has been an urban collage of sirens, pollution, traffic, and overcrowded housing conditions. The faces revealing the harsh realities of low income, meager access to assets, services and the looming fear of the unknown are all too familiar. I recognize these wrinkles of anxiety. I am familiar with these blemishes from tension baked in a pressure cooker because this has upon occasion been my own reflection. I have inhaled the stench of struggle; plugged into the poverty matrix yet I have refused to limit my perspective to these circumstances. I reject conventional expectations and will not limit my vision simply because I do not have the means. I am brazen enough to earn the whispers of others and wayward enough to steal a glimpse behind the curtain. The gift of imagination and a shield of faith help cultivate this bravery. Valor is not an exclusive badge worn by first respondents and military service men and women. Courage and understanding are the pre-requisites for challenging socially accepted ideals. Ultimately, the lingering dimple left on my spirit during this vacation is that there will be no more cowering in the shadows of other people’s insecurities. Self-assurance has more nobility than any pretentious title. Blazing the path for an extraordinary life journey requires a flammable substance and a few match sticks for ignition. What I want to leave embedded in the hearts and minds of those who have read the lines I’ve scripted for the greater part of my life is that we all have the capacity to embrace this human experience entirely without fear or isolation. It only takes a willingness to accept the pain with the passion, the trials along with the triumphs; the desire with the destruction. Why did I toss a time capsule into the Pacific? So that it could drift away into the infinite stream of love, light and peace for generations to come.