BE THE SALT AND LIGHT

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:13

Described as" the greatest meeting of land and water in the world”, I had dreamed for over 15 years of one day venturing all the way to the almost mythic Big Sur, CA and driving up and down the "longest and most scenic stretches off undeveloped coastline in the U.S". It was the first place I had ever visited that absolutely blew away what I had only held in my mind’s eye. I’m pretty convinced the “Sur” part of its name is on purpose as this place surpasses all expectations of what true, raw beauty can be. For now, I will dream of returning and bringing our firstborn one day. We camped on the side of a cliff for 2 nights with some longtime friend’s and their beautiful husky dogs. Before sunset, we would traverse down a narrow trail surrounded by poison oak to the rocky shoreline to catch the sunset in this rock formation that I couldn’t take my eyes off since I saw it the  before. My friend and I climbed out on it and stood atop while fully becoming immersed by the pacific waves crashing it's invigorating waters over us. I felt so alive and connected to everything all at once. We were laughing for no reason like children again. So full of joy and amazement for no reason! I can still taste the salt on my lips and the warmth of light glowing on my skin as the icy waters began to dry on me. It was a reminder. It was a taste and a feeling of what truth really was. And for no reason, other than to just embrace it, it was there for us. It always had been. It always will be. It teaches us to be just that for others.   

Fact: 

The First known people to have inhabited here were the Ohlone, Esselen, and Salinan Native American tribes. The area was later colonized by Spanish Europeans in 1770 who established the California Missions, where they baptized and forced the native population to labor at the missions where their population and culture were later devastated by unknown diseases such as smallpox and measles at the time. 

The region was ceded from Mexico to the U.S in 1848 and was the United States “Last Frontier.” It was once the most isolated area in the U.S until, after 18 years of construction, the infamous Hwy 1 was completed in 1937. 

Author Henry Miller said, “Big Sur is the California that men dreamed of years ago, this is the face of the earth the creator intended it to look like.”

Novelist Herbert Gold described Big Sur as “one of the grand American retreats for those who nourish themselves with wilderness."