We live in a world where it becomes increasingly difficult to get along with people. Social media has given us the means to share our thoughts and opinions like never before, which creates a whole slew of arguments and debates that more often than not leads to a lot of anger and hostility towards our fellow people. Whenever some controversial topic comes up, we rush to our phones to make our opinion known on the matter, and then proceed to call everyone an idiot who doesn’t see it the same way as us. The underlying theme of it all always seems to be fear. We fear the world moving in a direction that we don’t want it to. A less free, less moral, less just, illogical, senseless world. The world will always be a scary place, and the scariest part of it all is, for the most part, it is out of our control. So how do we live in a scary, hostile world where people are just becoming more and more divided and angry with each other?

Every year, my in-laws do an annual summer vacation in Santa Cruz, CA. And one of my favorite things to do is, first thing in the morning, get my cruiser board and skate to one of my favorite coffee shops – Cat & Cloud. The morning air is always so refreshing. It’s always misty and foggy and a little chilly. The first part of the trek is all downhill. The faster I go the more the air makes my skin tingle, popping my board over all the cracks in the sidewalk. Carving down the hill like I’m on a snowboard. After the downhill, it goes flat for a while, and then it’s uphill. I always opt to pick up my board and walk this part, but because I am walking, I stumble on a grove of blackberry bushes, and the berries are ripe and ready for picking. I stop and pick at them for a bit and think, “ahh, nature’s food, what a delight.” Then I get up the hill and continue skating, popping over the cracks, dodging a couple people on the sidewalk, and looking out for cars that are turning, which is all part of the fun. Then I finally get to the shop, get my coffee, take the first sip, “ahh just as good as I remember it.” Hop back on my board and start skating back. I pass a guy on a bike going in the opposite direction that shouts out, “good morning!” I yell it back, and think, “what a refreshing human connection.” I get to the downhill, and this one is bigger and steeper than the one I rode on the way in on. As I start picking up speed, I start crouching down, grazing my fingers on the pavement like I am surfing a wave, which just adds to the fun, and before you know it I am back at the house. I sit on the balcony overlooking the beach, sipping my coffee, and just reflect on these simple pleasures of life that often go unnoticed.

One thing that occurs to me as I am on the balcony is that freedom doesn’t always come from governments. No matter who the president is, or what the latest controversy is, no one can ever take the simple pleasures away from us. Picking blackberries off the side of the road, yelling “good morning” to a stranger on a bike, feeling the air on my skin as I fly across the pavement, all of which are pure freedom that transcends any government or controversy. Seems like we get so wrapped up in the plight of the world, the politics, the controversies, the moral trajectory, that we forget about the simple joys of life that really make life worth living. Cruising down the street on a bike or a skateboard, swimming in the ocean or the river, having a human connection with a stranger. It’s easy to forget about our fears and concerns about the world when we are wrapped up in the joy of the moment. The world is going to go where it is going to go, and there is not a whole lot we can do about it. We spend a lot of energy trying to prove to the world that our side of the argument, or our political stance is the right one and everyone else who doesn’t agree is an idiot. But one day we will be gone, and all that energy we spent getting all worked up over frivolous arguments and opinions will mean nothing. I hate to see people getting so mad at each other over things that either one can do little to nothing about. So why all the anger and hostility? It is out of our control. Don’t let the worries of tomorrow steal the joy of today. And most importantly, don’t forget about the blackberries.