Love Letter to Big Sur

“Big Sur is the California that men dreamed of years ago, this is the Pacific that Balboa looked at from the Peak of Darien, this is the face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look."  ~Henry Miller

Dear Big Sur,

Do you know what you are? My Favorite Place On Earth.

You are such a relatively small patch of earth, but pack a wallop with beauty, mystery, wildness and awe. I go to Big Sur and I feel safe yet humbled, hidden yet exposed. Being in a spot that literally feels like the edge of the earth - with whales swimming by and the water crashing below the rocky cliffs - I gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all things....me to the ferns to the hawks to the mountains to the salt water to the pine needles to the sky to the foxes. They are all there - living, breathing, flying, running, dying, nesting - in your arms, tucked in between your fog-enshrouded mountains and rugged Pacific coastline.

When I first moved to California, I heard much about the famed drive along Pacific Coast Highway up to and through Big Sur. When you hear so much about anything - a place, a movie, a book - it is easy to fall into the trap of believing it can't be as good as it's touted to be. But this stretch of the earth proved to be even more magnificent than anything anyone said about it. From the instant I began the ascent not far past Hearst Castle, I was madly in love. Despite having since traveled to other extraordinary parts of the world - Havana, Tokyo, Amman, Buenos Aires - my love for you has only deepened. How many times do I visit another country or city or monument and ask myself, "Is it better than Big Sur?" Every time. And how often have I answered "yes"? 

Never.

When we decided to create our gatherings, there was only one place we ever considered - Big Sur. Because these gatherings aren't about what we have to offer anyone else, but about what is already within them, wanting desperately to burst forth. While we could share our offerings pretty much anywhere, we know the power of Big Sur, and we are humble before your beauty, your LIFE, your wildness. We are grateful for your gifts, and eager to share them with our circle.

Blessings...Christine