Hearing the waves crash against the sand while watching the sunset turn the water and clouds pink.
Front row seats at the Eagles tribute band, Desperado, while enjoying a picnic and champagne.
Two dozen premier restaurants all in one place for your sampling.
Hearing world-renowned jazz bands outside while the weather stays a perfect 75 degrees at 8 p.m.
Picking and stomping grapes while raising money for charity.
Buying organic fruit at a farmers market.
Hiking nine miles in Buck Gully while not even needing to drive to get there.
Enjoying art sculptures that look like they belong in the Guggenheim museum.
You can do all this in one weekend—all in our own backyard.
Sometimes we really have to stop and appreciate how amazing it is to live in Newport Beach. We absolutely have it all right here.
I have traveled to many places in the world, and will continue to do so, yet every time I come home, I take a breath and remind myself how much we have here.
I especially love this time of year. It is a little quieter, the sunsets are more spectacular, we have the holiday season coming up with many fun activities to participate in, let alone enjoying the holiday lights.
Yet I see a major issue here.
I have so many clients I talk to that drive home at the end of their day and do not leave their house. They never step on the beach, or watch the sunset. Not to say you have to do those particular things, but we never know how long we get to live here.
I know one thing for sure, if I have to leave this area one day I know there will be very few things that I have not experienced here.
Another issue I see here is the drama that goes on. The impatience of people driving, people being mean to each other, selfishness and entitlement. None of us need to engage in that way of being, it is a choice, one we all get to decide on.
Why engage in it? Is there any benefit? We can walk away, we can make a different decision.
I often will tell my clients that we all get to make the choice to take the high road or the low road. Now in the interpersonal neuropsychology world, that would mean do you want to come from the frontal lobe or the amygdala? The frontal lobe makes conscious choices while the amygdala is impulsive and about survival.
The divorce rate in Orange County is one of the highest in the country. I hear people ending friendships due to lack of people making relationships a priority. Very sad when I know that life is about relationships, and people with successful relationships are the happiest.
So even though we have all these amazing activities, without being able to share them with people, they do not have as much meaning.
I see a lot of emphasis on having the nice house, the newest car, their bodies looking fitter yet we need to put that same effort into our relationships.
Melchor Lim once said, “Sometimes you need to take a few steps back to see things clearly. Never let your life become so filled with work, your mind become so crammed with worry, or your heart become so flamed with old hurts or anger, that there’s no room left in them for fun, for awe, or for joy.”
I love living in Newport Beach and will continue to enjoy all it has to offer, but what made this weekend so fun, was that I got to share all these activities with my friends. Take time to enjoy this wonderful area, but also take time to nurture your relationships. Wow—what a life we get to have.
