Coastline Pilot

1 December 2006

 

Chasing the Muse

Catharine Cooper

 

‘Tis the season … of yuletide and carols … parties and fruit cakes … cookies and holiday cheer.  ‘Tis the season for gathering together friends, co-workers, and family - and exchanging copious amounts of gifts.

 

Hospitality Night on Friday sets the stage for one of my favorite evenings in Laguna.  The downtown stores are open late and people of all ages mill the streets.  Shop fronts are brightly decorated with ornaments and lights, and offer hot cider or tasty cookie bites. Restaurants are filled with holiday diners, and nearly everyone wears a smile.

 

Children eagerly await the arrival of Santa Claus on his bright red fire engine and line up in front of ‘house’ to share their secret wishes.  Adults, like myself, hold their child-self close to heart as we anxiously await the lighting of the City’s Christmas tree.

 

It’s a special evening, and a good kick-off to the season of presents.

 

While I thrill at the lights, decorations and the spirit that permeates the air, I find something in this holiday season doesn’t feel quite right.  It’s a feeling of - too much.  Too much food.  Too many parties all on the same night. Too much alcohol.  And certainly, too much stuff!

 

I seems that everywhere we go in the month of December we carry a gift.  That it isn’t so much a choice, as it has become an obligation.  We can’t go ... without …

 

How have we come to this?  How have we come to this odd ritual where the pile of refuse and unwanted/unused items overwhelms the spirit with which they were given?

 

I don’t mean to sound like bah humbug, because I love to share, and gifts are a grand gesture of that feeling.  But travel in other countries has provided a broad tableau upon which to measure that which is necessary against the excess that marks most of our lives.

 

And so I propose a change or two.  A difference in my own approach.  A way to hold intact the spirit of giving, without creating additional waste for over-choked landfills.  A way to hold to the true spirit of the season.

 

Instead of that box of cookies, bottle of wine, or whatever not-really-needed item that I might drag to a party, I’m going to take a receipt for a donation made in the name of the host/hostess to one of my favorite charities or non-profits. We can balance our desire to give with those whose needs are the greatest. 

 

 

Here are a few of my of my personal favorites.

 

Heifer International  www.heifer.org

Heifer International is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help end world hunger and poverty through self-reliance & sustainability.  Their approach of over 60 years is to help people obtain a sustainable source of food and income.  The program perpetuates itself through “Passing on the Gift” which develops community and enhances self-esteem by allowing project partners to become donors.  An example of this would be a family which receives a Heifer cow.  The milk would supplement the families diet and income, and the first calf would be given to a neighbor. 

Heifer Project International - 800-422-0474.

 

Habitat for Humanity

International : www.habitat.org

Orange County : www.habitatoc.org

HFHI is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness, and to make decent shelter shelter a matter of conscience and action.   Since it’s founding in 1976 HFHI has built more than 200,000 houses around the world and provided more than 1,000,000 with safe, decent and affordable shelter. 714-434-6200

 

Ocean Laguna Foundation  www.oceanlagunafoundation.org

The mission is to preserve and protect the beaches, inter tidal zone, watersheds, and ocean waters of Laguna Beach.

Walter Reed - 949-223-0016

 

Friendships Shelter www.friendshipshelter.org

Their mission is to assist homeless adults in Orange County to become self-sufficient and productive members of society.

Janet Larkly - 949-494-6928

Pacific Marine Mammal Center
  www.pacificmmc.org

PMMC’s mission is to rescue, medically treat and rehabilitate marine mammals that are stranded along Orange County beaches.

949-494-3050

 

Laguna Canyon Foundation  www.lagunacanyon.org

949-497-8324

 

Surfrider Foundation  www.surfrider.org

 

Crystal Cove Alliance   www.crystalcovealliance.org

 

Laguna Beach Community Clinic

362 Third Street, Laguna Beach – 949-494-0761

 

Children’s Hospital of Orange County

949.497.1682

 

Laguna Beach Art Museum  www.lagunaartmuseum.org

949.494.897

 

SchoolPower  www.lbschoolpower.com/

949-494-6811

 

Laguna College of Art & Design  www.lagunacollege.edu

949-376-6000

 

Laguna Beach Historical Society  www.lagunahistory.org/

949-497-4525

 

Happy Holidays .. and thoughtful giving.

 

Catharine Cooper is an adventurer who writers, photographs and designs.  She can be reached at ccooper@cooperdesign.net or 714 296 5250.