coming back

Last week, I rode my bike through the section of Griffith Park that had burned a few months ago. Only the perimeter of the park had been open since the burn, and then just a week or so ago they opened the path that goes through the center of the park over the ridge with the valley on one side and hollywood on the other. I got up early and rode with a small group. It was the first time I'd done the ride over the ridge in about a year.

Coming down we rode through the burned area. We've had no rain since then so there was no new growth, but I was pleased to see how much plant life had been spared. It actually looked pretty good, as though a long overdue fire had cleared out an overabundance of dead material and left behind the srongest plants, and lots of room for new growth to come in. I only hope the city doesn't replant, as they talked about immediately after the fire. The first time we get some rain (as long as we don't get so much to cause mudslides) the hillside should green up very nicely and with native plants that ought to be there.

I was feeling, for myself also, the first time taking a significant ride on the bike in a long time, and with a group of riders instead of by myself, that I was coming back after a time of recharging. Life goes in cycles of energy. The downtimes are not disasters, they're necessary and beautiful. It's a mistake of modern life fed by an economy that measures success only in growth, that we feel we must always be up and going going going to be successful. Spiritual health recognizes the need for work and for rest.