I saw the posters the day before: Inaugural Gathering 8am, Toby's Feed Barn, Pt. Reyes, organic breakfast out on the hay stacks. I knew I wanted to be there. So I rounded up a friend, got up at dawn, and celebrated the Inaugural Day out in beautiful West Marin, the frontier town of Pt. Reyes in the glittering ocean air.Pt. Reyes was at the height of it's glory. A progressive town, mainstreet windows have been reading HOPE in large letters for some time now.
The unoffical center of town, Toby's Feed Barn, organic foods & yoga center, and supporting merchants, hosted the event, hundreds came.
There was something wonderful about being under the high barn rafters, the scent of hay all around, mixed with the fresh sunlight and ocean air. It was earthy, grounding, refreshing.
The crowd was enthusiastic, cheering often. Many generations were there, babies, toddlers, young people, and silver haired elders.
The central theme of the day for the town was this - Pledge Your Changes for the Next 100 Days! I liked this - I had been meditating on how we, too, are inaugurating ourselves for our new year - so this was the perfect atmosphere to be in! A creative arts table stood with red, white and blue streamers, ribbons and pens, inviting all to write their pledges. It was a conscious gathering - you could read the local leadership pledges swirling in the sun - biking to work, walking to work, feeding the hungry, cleaning the beaches, funding community shelters.
Hands wrote, reached, tied theirs on with string, read the others. The energy was glittering and beautiful. I stood under it for some time, gazing upon it, glittering against the blue sky, the ball swinging in the sunlit breeze. It felt like what Tibetan prayer flags must feel like strung up flapping in the high altitude winds against the blue mountain top skies. I wrote and tied mine on. 
It was a day to SHINE. And so I took Sita and headed to the beach to dedicate the day at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and I cast my prayers there too.
And later that night, driving home, the Pt. Reyes Petaluma Road bridge, which had been just handpainted with gorgeous colorful mural of trees, fields, fruits and flowers, sunshine and the word "HOPE" for this occasion - was lit with luminaria in every small niche of its arches, a glimmering trail of hope shimmering magically into the wooded night.
Let us SHINE friends, with a light that magically leads our path too into this new year - HO!
love, Kimberly
