“In the Sea Ranch, one might view the Commons landscape as the vital, living matrix that stitches each home and its inhabitants into visual and sensual belonging with the whole. One might consider that these several thousand acres – across forest, wetland, creek, bluff and meadow terrace, are the verdant tendons and ligaments that fasten our lives and experiences of this place together into something cohesive. What I see now, after nine months of living here, is that what truly holds this place together emerges primarily from the hearts of its people. Every single act of kindness and respect that occurs between its human occupants, and between the people and the land itself adds up to everything that matters most. Thoughtful gestures offered from one neighbor to another; passionate volunteers spending weekends tending meadows, writing the CEP, or taking note of subtle changes in the flora and fauna of the terrestrial and marine realms – these moments of consistent, mindful presence to each other and to the environment around us are what define the character and essence of this place, and upon which its resilience depends. Every Sea Ranch dinner party; every act of checking in with one another through storms, natural disaster, or human loss; every instance when a design committee member reminds a homeowner to consider their neighbors’ view and well-being as much as their own; every time two individuals or two groups of people agree to disagree, but with civility, integrity and respect -  this is the true glue, the collagen of this place.”