America and her major cities have a diverse amount of status.  The tents lined up on sidewalks throughout most of Los Angeles can be heart-wrenching.  Their own system of prison rules and hierarchy are in place.  Terrifying and right there in plain sight.  No mental institutions or rehabilitation centers, just the street.

Middle class homes that were once in the mid 200k’s, now over 1MM, mostly with people who’d love to cash out but would have to leave the state to do it.  Lots of stress here.  It was easier being in the middle.

Then the rich and uber rich, who have an endless supply of f*ck-you money and are uniquely unqualified to give an opinion about much of anything real-life, as their gilded cage provides a limited view.  They shop the high end Italian/French brands of clothing, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus for gadgets and glory.  And for the fridge it’s Erewhon in Calabasas, where the latter I now frequent for lunch, simply because it’s the best eats.  But there’s a few things you notice about Erewhon and it’s customers.

First, the incredible amount of healthy and organic selection, organized with such precision and meticulous care that it’s almost too pretty to be a market.  It’s stacked with elves, furiously working the entire perimeter to bring out the very best natural food has to offer, cooked dishes, salads, at least a half dozen or more employees behind the smoothie bar concocting all kinds of fruit & vegetable drinks, coffees, pastries etc.  Vitamin and herbal specialists, butchers and produce handlers… It’s like a world of its own.

Then the prices.  One hand-basket full is at least 200.00.  ouch … but my motto this year has been ‘food is the new European vacation’.

And there’s a negative side.  The clientele are upper demo.  New millennial yuppies.  They come in Range Rovers, BMW’s, Bentleys and Mercedes.  They wear oversized sweats, yoga pants, designer sneakers and sunglasses, looking ho-hum hungover and being day-trained privately by a Kardashian sister on how to perfect a ‘California smug chic’.  You can pick them out before they even reach their 100k+ cars.  They exude a sort of look that says “So I’m rich, but I’m bored.  Please notice me”.

Contrast this with my walk today (picture above)

I was thinking this might be the most beautiful place in the world.   It’s in a part of LA that’s either sneered at, or at best dismissed by the city.   But today I imagined it on a postcard.  Rocks abound.  Trails, railroad tracks, freeway underpasses, kids laughing, birds singing, sun shining in December, I mean… it’s a little slice of heaven, honestly.  To add to that, I’ve had some sort of time travel childlike regression, placing coins on the tracks to flatten them while my dog waits like a loyal girlfriend yards away.  At first it was to make guitar picks, but honestly it just brings me some oddly satisfying joy.  Like a kid.  Like if I were on my death bed I doubt I’d regret not taking another meeting to make more money, but I guarantee you I’ll be happy I took this time for myself, my dog.

Anyway, as I was walking and taking it in I thought to myself, If this were Italy, we’d see a picture of it on a postcard and our dreams would run away with us.  We’d log on to Expedia and start doing the math.

Because the grass is always greener.  Yet everywhere in the U.S., from the naked winter trees of the northeast and midwest down to the shores of the Gulf Coast and Florida.  From the mountains of Colorado and Utah to the vast desert of California, Nevada and into Mexico, it’s all rugged beauty.  How often do we notice it as the gift it is?

While our minds are on our work, our goals, 401k’s, health benefits, (misnomer) our kids, what we leave behind, who said what, politics… a million and one things.  While are minds are doing all this, we’re not present.  We don’t notice the obvious.

How many times have you driven home from wherever, and realized you can’t even recall getting there?  You were somewhere else.

But would we notice this beauty around us if it were stripped away?  Wiped clean like a Twilight Zone episode… barren with no green life or sunshine… no squirrels or rabbits, no birds.  You know we would, in a heartbeat yes.

I encourage each and every one of you over the holidays, myself included to step outside, walk around, take it in and soak it up… find the postcard. It’s everywhere, and you don’t have to fly somewhere and show & tell it on Instagram to feel the joy.  You just have to turn off the mental noise and notice that it’s there.  And it’s been there, waiting for you.

Love and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all ❤️

Jude