what's really important.

i am really in love with where i live in topanga. it's peaceful and quiet, we get to be close to nature but still near LA, and we have a really kind and friendly neighborhood. sometimes i forget though that we're living in a place that maybe we shouldn't be.

today is super super windy. the santa ana winds are blowing through, and for the first time since we've lived here there is a red flag for extreme fire danger. at this time of year the land is dry from no rain since winter, the humidity is low, and the winds are gusty. combine this with a spark of any kind and we have a perfect recipe for fire.

last night i was feeling really worried about fire. i read a lot about how fires are such a natural process here where we live in the santa monica mountains. in fact, many plants depend on the cleansing of fires to grow. some seeds are in cases that need to be burned off, and the fires help to clear out all the dead plant matter. the more we humans suppress the fires, the more decaying matter builds up. so when the fires do come, they are bigger. i'm still really worried, but at the same time i'm accepting that this is the natural progression of things. what can we do? move? there's nowhere else i want to be right now.

i used to think that people who lived in dangerous weather areas were kinda dumb. like why set your life up in a place where everything can be so easily taken away from you? but now i understand. because you love that place. you put down roots there even though you realize the risk. i'd rather live somewhere i love than move somewhere that's not right for me to avoid the potential loss. {it also helps to have insurance! and not a lot of highly valuable stuff.}

in a way this fire warning has made me contemplate what's important. only our lives. we could lose everything and i'd probably miss a few things, but nothing is totally irreplaceable. not like a life. so if a fire comes, or this is hard to say but, when a fire comes, we will just leave. patrick, liam, and i will get out and the possessions of our lives will be cleansed by the fire like the rest of the chapparal. i am working on finding a peace with this. namaste.