Life's Treasures
Family, Friends, and Health
Well, 2025 has gotten off to an inauspicious start here in Southern California. I was writing a new post about the importance of posture when an unimaginable tragedy struck the greater Los Angeles area. Destructive firestorms, fueled by turbulent winds that shook the house, decimated entire neighborhoods and city centers, most extensively in Pacific Palisades to the west and Altadena, a small community just north of our home.
Although we are experiencing the strange orange sunlight and stifling cloud of smoke and ash in the air, it’s nothing compared to the apocalyptic devastation just a few short miles away. I saw images of a nursing home evacuating patients in the dark of the night, wheeling them out in their beds in 45-degree temperatures. My heart sank for them. I could only imagine how helpless and terrified they must have felt.
While my family is safe from the blazes, I wish I could say the same for many families in our school community who have lost everything in the blink of an eye. It is beyond heartbreaking to see tragedy strike people we know, in neighborhoods that are extensions of ours. It’s mind-numbing and hard to wrap our heads around the depth of the horrific damage.
As I made breakfast this morning for my son and two friends who had been evacuated, this terrible event has reinforced the true treasure in life: family, friends, and our health…especially in situations such as this, when everything material is gone, and you’re left with who is around and what’s inside of you.
Being resilient and self-reliant is one of the most important reasons I work hard on my health. This is a sobering reminder that we can never be too ready, too strong, too healthy.
May God bless all those impacted by the fires and give strength to the first responders and firefighters who are working selflessly, risking life and limb, to save lives and structures.
I’ll be back next week with eye-opening information on the importance of posture to live well, age great.