Sunday, January 12
Almost a week into the massive fires that swept through Los Angeles, the mood has changed from two days of fleeing panic and overwhelming winds to a coordinated response while the state leaders play catch up. It has been heartening to see the massive responses by the citizens who donated massive piles of clothing, essential personal care items, water and electrolyte drinks. Those who had physical limitations or time donated funds to relief organizations. Even more impressive is the number of citizens who volunteered to sort, fold, drive and distribute these goods to the many places that volunteered their businesses as distribution centers. I heard a citizen on the news say, Los Angeles is a huge city that is also a caring, small town. That proves to be true because most of Los Angeles is working class with just a powdered sugar sprinkling of excessively wealthy and famous that get the continuous spotlight. The neighbor who put out the call that their local fire department had no power, brought a Teamsters response of “that’s what we do for the movies, we can help.” No matter your political bent… Teamsters get it done.

So this event has me thinking on two fronts. One – these climate disasters will continue to happen. A good article by Earth Island Institute talks specifically about Los Angeles fires in January. Yes, fires have always been an issue in many of the burn areas however, not to this intensity. And Two – the need for rest for resilience is something that our society actively fights against. Our current culture emphasizes productivity at an urgent level and ACTION. How often do you lie down on the couch and think, “I’m just being lazy”? Rest is restorative and wellness is resilience. You’ve heard the phrase, “If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything” before. It was even used in jest by Count Rugen in the torture scene of The Princess Bride. How much have you LISTENED to that though? All over social media I see people running around, exhausted and posting about it in an attempt to show they are “a good person”. You, the good person, are worthy of rest and restoration. And yes, you will then go out there and do your utmost again. However for balance, you must rest.

All of this loss is EMOTIONAL. I know my husband, who is a native Los Angeles resident, firmly planted, is feeling the impacts of this disaster much more so than I am and I’ve lived here well over 2 decades. It’s devastating of course, yet it’s not my home town. I have lived in 4 states and trust me, each have their good and bad. There is no paradise or perfect state, although some get close. So with emotions, comes exhaustion. It’s okay to rest.