there are little things in life that make me so happy. i'll share one ...
walking home from the top of 29th street, down the middle of the street looking at Bernal Hill and the East Bay. it always looks different. sometimes it's shrouded in clouds and fog, sometimes i catch it with the orange hue of a setting sun, sometimes it's the thick, hot haze of a summer afternoon ... everytime, the light and conditions highlight different aspects of the scene.
last night i got home around 11:30 and was walking down the hill. the fog had cleared and there was a light warm-ish wind. Bernal Hill was lit up with small distinct lights from houses - it reminded me of a model train set i had as a kid.
just to the left of Bernal Hill, hanging low above the Oakland hills was a large, dull-orange 3/4 moon - just barely hanging onto the sky above the horizon. it looked like a quarter being inserted into a thin black slot in the sky.
i strolled down the hill, taking this all in and just smiled at how lucky i am to live somewhere that i love and to have the opportunity to do all the things i do.
not too long ago, i stopped feeling guilty about having more than some people in this world. besides being philanthropic and donating some money and time to help others, there's not much i can do about my good fortune. it doesn't make sense to give everything away. instead, i made a pledge to appreciate what i have as often as possible and to give freely of myself when healthy and appropriate.
i also need to acknowledge that as much as i love *stuff*, it clutters my life and can distract me from my true purpose - which is to help people and to leave this world in better condition than i found it. so gadgets and toys are fun, but my life is not the pursuit of gadgets and toys - though i sometimes forget this in a world surrounded by them. no, my life is about experiencing the journey. i may not know why i am here, but i do know that while here, i plan to take advantage of and appreciate my life.
so, if you are ever in the outer Noe Valley area, take a stroll down 29th street and take in all that you see. it may not be much, but it sure is a lot.
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Hey Jason! I saw your name on Amy's blog. You posted a comment just below mine. So I clicked on your name to see what your blog is all about. I saw the word San Francisco in the top right and it got my attention. I looooove San Francisco. If I had to move in the States, San Francisco is one of the only place where I would want to move. I had the pleasure to go once, but we just stayed one weekend. It was too short for me.
I read your first post and I like it. I thought to myself "Yeah, maybe my blog is a little bit too negative after all!" LOL! Well I need to vent from time to time, and friends tell me that I make them laugh, so I guess that I'm not negative all the time. I'm sure that as the weeks go by, our blogs are going to evolve. But anyway, all that to tell you that I checked about 25 or 30 blogs yesterday, and I was not interested in many of them. But I find yours interesting and I'm going to read your other posts. I bookmarked the blogs that I like, and yours is on my list. So count me among your readers. I'll come check things out once in a while.
Have a great day!
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