Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.  

James Lane Allen

Cambria is home to more character than one town should rightfully have. Wherever you look, an organization is raising funds or doing projects that add to the beauty of the town and the well-being of Cambrians. Helping families who might need a bit or communities that might need a lot.

Community

Today, like every Thanksgiving day, meals are being served at the Vet’s Hall free of charge for anyone in the community that might want to sit together with friends and strangers to share a meal and common humanity.

The gathering is more than a “help those less fortunate” event; it indeed is a community of good and caring Cambrians who both give and get the grace that comes from service and community. Faith, politics, economics and social status are left outside, and for this time of sharing, all is well. Soon we will be hosting thousands of visitors who will make the drive up the coast to enjoy the ever-growing Christmas Market, and discover the shops, restaurants, artists and, above all the magnificent beauty of ocean and mountain that surround us and remind us of what we have, and our responsibility to protect and defend all we have been given.

Not Far Away

This mixed sense of gratitude and responsibility is amplified by the heartbreaking devastation to our north and our south, where fire has ripped into other communities filled with people who found their place amidst the wild, and sometimes dangerous beauty that defines California. Riches, spiritual and material, have been tested and taken away from some, while strengthened in others who, despite seeing the world ignite, head into the fire to save and help.

May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love

Bruce Springsteen, Into The Fire

Standing Together

The giving and sharing we see today at the Vet’s Hall in beautiful Cambria are replicated across beautiful California. Maybe it is in a dark, smoky tent, barn, or other structure pressed into service to provide shelter and relief for those who have lost and those who have helped. Maybe it’s in a church or school gym. Perhaps it’s just one person bringing water and sandwiches to a displaced family, now living in their car parked in a rest area or a store parking lot. It is deeply meaningful for the giver and the receiver. Our humanity rises, always.

Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.