Living On The Edge
Esalen President Gordon Wheeler's Blog
April, 2011
At Esalen we know we live on the edge - geographically, environmentally, and of course in our programs and initiatives as well. It's what we do, and it's who we are. It's why we come to Esalen, for retreat, renewal, and new perspective. It's a choice to visit, to participate, or to live here of course; -- but if we do choose it, then we're choosing to wake up, examine our lives and our experience, take a risk large or small (and you can't always judge which is which from the outside - small steps can often be the most lasting, and lead to the most change).
Teachers at Esalen know this, and often mention it. They tell us their Esalen groups are awake, "ready to work," eager for new ideas and new experience. Of course, that's not to say that I don't resist the new change I'm also seeking: we humans are complex creatures, full of contradictions and wonderfully, maddeningly unpredictable - even to ourselves! Challenge and support - those two dynamics have to go together in the right mix, to get lasting, creative change in our lives. Putting those seeming opposites together is as much a part of Esalen's identity and legacy as East and West, bodymind and heartspirit, or integrating the personal with the social, the ecological, the political in the best sense.
Somehow it makes sense, perched as we are on the ocean cliffs at the western edge of the North American landmass, that we'd be poised to feel the effects of all the environmental as well as the cultural changes our world is going through. This past month at Esalen we felt the distant effects of the tsunami set off by the earthquakes in Northern Japan; and then we've watched, as the whole world watches, the heartbreaking aftermath of destruction and danger that is still unfolding tragically as I write this. Our hearts and prayers go out to our many, many friends in Japan in their own anxiety and grief.
The main force of the tsunami turned south, and here on the eastern Pacific shore we experienced only more minor effects. Strange and rapid repeat-tides washed against cliffs and shore, causing damage to boats and harbors all along the Central Coast region here, but with no loss of life.. Since boats at anchor are not really a possibility in the turbulent waters of Big Sur, we weren't directly affected.
Tsunami-related or not, it was another matter when a section of Highway One slipped into the ocean later in the month. We're used to winter road outages in Big Sur - usually brief and quickly cleared up by our indefatigable, mostly unsung Caltrans heroes. Big Sur (not just Esalen) lives on travellers, and these crews are out from dawn to dark and sometimes beyond, seeing to it that you (and we) can get back and forth to towns north and south, safely (if cautiously - we always advise road caution, especially in winter and spring!) Post-fire winters are especially treacherous, because the hills are bare and more unstable; but even in the seasons after the catastrophic Basin Complex fires of 2008, which closed Esalen and burned a quarter million acres right down onto our property, our Caltrans crews have limited road outages to just a day or two, here and there.
Those are slides from above the roadbed. A collapse from below is another matter, and takes longer. They tell us the highway going north to Carmel/Monterey will be out for at least this month, with hopes of one lane, at least, reopening in May while they keep working on it. This is a disaster for the hotels and restaurants of Big Sur, just gearing up for the spring and summer tourist season, which is the lifeblood for them and their employees. Latest uproar: the formal relocation of the Big Sur Marathon at the end of this month, thereby depriving the whole area of a giant infusion of much-needed revenue. The Big Sur community rolls with the punches and sticks together, and even Esalen Head Chef Phillip Burrus is urging our staff and teachers to encourage guests to make an excursion up to the great restaurants of Big Sur Valley one night while they're here: they need your business! (But keep an eye out for the occasional nighttime rock in the roadway!)
Our worldwide Esalen community, we know, is made of sterner stuff! Highway One is still open through to Esalen to and from the South. And if your travel is North, just ten or so miles south of Esalen a magical winding mountain roadway cuts east across Nacimiento Pass, wending along on the other side through the Hunter-Liggett Army training grounds to join US 101. At which point you step back into today's rushing world with a shock, traffic and trucks whizzing by, activity and speed and all those features of "civilized" life... (And don't neglect to stop in at Joanna's at Greenfield, where for about six bucks you can get the freshest, tastiest chilis rellenos anywhere, prepared by Joanna herself, who doesn't need English to come out of the kitchen and make you feel at home!).
Last week things got even more challenging, for a few days anyway, when the road to the South went out as well, due to heavy slides down at Limekiln, a perennial problem area. We waited expectantly for them to announce the reopening - anxiously actually, because I had a weekend plane to Italy, where I'm currently taking a long-deferred six weeks' writing retreat, working hard on the next draft of a new book. Wednesday came and went, and by Thursday I began to consider walking across the cave-in area up north with my bags, and getting picked up and driven to the airport from the other side (this is physically possible, but it's unsafe, forbidden by Caltrans, so don't do it!).
Friday we drove down to the South and sat out the afternoon at the slide site barrier, in hopes that they'd open up for at least an hour at the end of their shift. By five o'clock there were over a hundred cars in line, a mix of world travellers and Big Sur friends and neighbors, including Alan Perlmutter from River Inn, dean of the Big Sur hoteliers. Alan organizes all the largest Big Sur employers from time to time in support of crucial local services like the Health Clnic and the fire and ambulance brigades; and in that way we're all connected when closures and other emergencies come up (it can often happen that the tool or generator part you need and can't get through from town, you can borrow from some other Big Sur establishment till the roads reopen). He was there to assess the work and let his driver in town know whether to head our way and try to get through with supplies (plenty of food on hand for the guests, Alan said; their biggest immediate problem was no garbage service!) At length even he pronounced it hopeless for the day, and drove home.
Still we waited, hoping for that magic moment when you see a Caltrans truck coming around the corner, maybe to tell you they've got an open lane at last. At 5:00 a vehicle did appear. It was just a private 4x4, but it must have been down there all afternoon, since none of us had seen it go through to the worksite, and we'd been there since noon. Several of us rushed over to open the barrier and let him through, and see what news we could glean.
The lone driver in the modest ATV was none other than Monterey's Congressman Sam Farr, a Big Sur native and an old friend and supporter of Esalen - and bearing good news. Now that's service! One lane would be open soon, Sam told us, and southborne traffic would go first. It wasn't long till we were high above the coast, taking in the breathtaking ocean views from Nacimiento Pass - and of course I did make my plane.
Meanwhile, it's a great time to come to Esalen! Spring flowers are out, the hills are gorgeous, the farm and gardens in full bounty. They tell me some periods this month are sold out, but in others the numbers are down, due to cancellations (Esalen participants are dogged about getting there, but of course sometimes you just can't take the extra travel time to come around from the South). Check out the Newsletter and the Website for more information and special opportunities.
Safety and challenge, ourselves and our world, conservation and change in the right creative balance we're all always looking for. That's Esalen. See you soon in Big Sur!
Gordon Wheeler, President, Esalen Institute (from Florence Italy)