Open or Closed?
“Closed Today,” has read the sign in front of Point Lobos
State Reserve many days this winter.
Thankfully it’s not state budget cuts keeping some of the half a million
annual visitors from entering what is called “the crown jewel of the state park
system,” or “the greatest meeting of land and sea.”
No, it’s possible danger to those visitors, from high surf,
high winds, downed trees and mudslides.
It’s shaping up to be wild, wet winter, and the roads, trails and
coastline are risky places to be. A tree
actually fell, on a pretty nice day, directly on a visitor who was obediently
on trail (and not seriously hurt.)
But some locals (and probably some tourists) grumble that
the Parks folks are being too cautious.
On any day, wet or dry, winter or summer, a guest could risk life on the
wet rocks, slip on a trail, trip over a branch.
Life is dangerous. We go to that
great meeting place, to the wild, as Thoreau said, to see our limits pushed.
And we wonder why is there more damage this year? Trees stressed and weak from years of
drought? Wild weird weather patterns
because of climate change (or the new phrase I’ve heard, climate chaos)?
Lobos is a State Reserve, not a park, which means it is
managed not with people in mind, but the wild life there. Parking is limited, no ball fields, stay on
the trails. If a tree falls down, unless
it is across a road or trail, it is not tidied up, but left alone to provide
habitat for wildlife and decompose to enrich the soil. Even when National Geographic wanted to come
in early before opening to film, they were told no, we are closed when the
animals eat at dawn and dusk – it’s their home, we are visitors.
So maybe State Parks is just doing their job, being good
stewards. The land and trees and animals
need some recovery time free of thrill-seeking tourists, some respite after the
storm. It’s not all about us and what we
want. Stewardship sometimes means saying
no.
Metaphor time: If we, like Lobos, are natural gifts of God
(maybe not quite so spectacular, but not bad), can we choose times when we
should be open for business, and others when it’s best to say, “closed
today?” Or are we being too
cautious? Should we let people in even
if there is some risk? And if something
crashes and falls, do we let it nourish us or do we tidy it up to look
better? Are we parks or reserves? What are our wild edges? Where do our wild lilacs bloom and lupine
bud? On our “closed” days, do “the trees
of the field clap their hands, as we go out in joy?” (Isaiah 55:12)
Open or closed today?
__________
Our Blue Theology ministry of ocean stewardship and
spirituality is always open. Our youth
service trips and adult pilgrimages on the Monterey Bay often include a poetry
walk-and-write at Point Lobos. Bluetheology.com. Photo: Steve Lonhart, NOAA
