I have lived in Los Angeles for over forty years. I have become part of the fabric. I am originally from NYC but I left that suit of clothes behind the moment I did my first EST training in early eighties and The Love weekend with Muktananda. I have become all things LA, for better or worse.
LA is a city always in flux. There is a complex love affair, much like a typical LA relationship, between the people who live here and the city.
The amount of certified loyalty to the city combined with equal parts ‘ghosting’ and betrayal is the natural order of things.
One is always thinking of leaving or talking about leaving and at the same time decorating and building new additions to their homes.
It is a city of entitlement and outrage and outrage and entitlement are kindred spirits. They both are disgusted by what they can’t control.
There is nothing like an LA day. the LIGHT – the warm air mixed with the cool shadows makes all feel beautiful and unique. It also brings the temporal-apocalyptic concern that something bad can happen.
To live in LA is to live in the wonderment of how it’s all going to go. This is not a city of guarantees or stability. This is a city of uncertainty and hope. You don’t come here having it all worked out, you come here hoping it does.
Raising children here is not easy as they are products of that culture- uncertain, anxious and entitled dually mixing with the fabulously wealthy and the mentally ill and sometimes it’s not that easy to tell the two apart.
The radical ambiguities and who and what to ally to and where to dedicate your time is a typical LA day. To have lived here for the better part of my life and to continue to attempt to navigate the capriciousness of Los Angeles is an aerobic workout – it explains why everyone is in shape.
Each city has its own character and LA’s character has taken time to develop. It’s a young city with a strong commitment to staying young and the resources to demand that.
To live and die in LA? I don’t think so, but then again – when that LA light hits you, it is hard to think of anywhere else.