Usually when people say things like "through fires and floods" they are speaking metaphorically, but this last week and a half has held both fires and floods, right here in the community we serve.
First, it was intense flooding on the Newport Peninsula from high tide and a big hurricane swell. Then a short week later, wildfires were ripping through South County, propelled by the offshore winds.
Those same offshore winds are simultaneously producing incredible surfing conditions, and home-destroying wild fires. It's a wild balance to be seeing footage of fires approaching homes alongside photos of "all time epic waves".
Our own Alex Swanson (longtime contributor and husband of our Operations Czar, Erica) is a fire captain for OCFA and was on the front lines fighting fires and sleeping on the ground.
The words that keep echoing in my head are "zoom out".
One of the best ways to gain perspective is simply to zoom out—literally and figuratively.
I have often joked that my kids are never cuter than when you see them playing from 100 yards away. (Usually right after school drop off as they are greeting their friends). There's something about watching your kids be themselves from father away that endears them even more, because I so rarely see them from far off (usually they are in my face, space or dog-piling on me.) Seeing you kids from further away allows you to see them through a different lens.
Its a similar experience when you see your town from a distance. Whether peering out the window as you take off in a plane or hiking to a point where you can see your town from further away, perspective is gained when you zoom out and see the whole picture. It's easier to appreciate the crowds, traffic, and people when you take time to take in the whole picture.
It's so easy to get tunnel vision. To be overly fixated on the to do list, and the problems. My thought for this week is to find opportunities to zoom out. There are fires and floods, and yet there are also sweet moments and reasons for thankfulness.
I finished writing this little article and opened Instagram, and my friend Kohl had just poste this:
