Strength, Beauty, Resilience

The words that are defining the beginning of 2025

 
The day that the fires began was the day that I had intended to send my holiday greeting with the message, “may your dreams take flight”. And then my family and I were evacuated, holding tight to the belief that our home would survive. It did. We are fortunate, so incredibly grateful for the herculean efforts of the people – firefighters, sheriff, police, volunteers – that saved our neighborhood in Topanga.
 
Everyone I know, knows so many people whose homes were lost, beloved memories, artifacts, histories… I wake up with a deep sadness, remembering that this catastrophic event actually did happen. Everyone in our entire Los Angeles community has suffered loss with these fires. Our lives and our landscapes have been forever changed.
 
This little video was taken on a family dog walk along the Malibu coast this past fall. The modern-day pterodactyls flying in formation above the crashing waves. And they continue to fly their route even after this devastation.
 
With each loss, evidence of strength and beauty is found in the natural environment, our communities, our families, and ourselves. None of this can erase our sorrow. Rather it adds to our richness and our humanity.
 
May we all grow stronger together. May we continue to find joy in the beauty that is here now. May we meet our challenges with resilience and faith.

With love,
Tamara