What is your favorite place to go in your city?
There are two places in my city that feel like old friends who know exactly how to hold me: Playa del Rey beach and downtown Culver City. One gives me sky, salt, and space to hear my own spirit again. The other gives me people, color, and the joyful hum of life happening around me. I move between them like I’m tuning my inner instrument, finding harmony in the push and pull of solitude and community.
Jesus once said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” That verse in Matthew 11 always rises in my mind when I pull into the parking lot at Playa del Rey. Rest isn’t just about slowing down. It’s about remembering who you are when the world tries to bend you into something smaller.
Where the Shoreline Knows My Name
Playa del Rey is the place where I return to myself. The waves do something to me. They straighten out whatever got tangled inside me during the week. Psalm 139 reminds me that God’s thoughts toward me outnumber the grains of sand, which means He’s already here long before my feet touch the shore. I walk, breathe, talk to God without forcing anything, and let the breeze rearrange my perspective.
And honestly, beaches are honest places. They don’t pretend. The ocean doesn’t flatter. It just shows up with truth, movement, and rhythm. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” That’s exactly what the waves do. They strip the noise. They pull me back to essence.
Where Community Feels Like Warm Light
Then there’s downtown Culver City, my soft spot for people-watching, iced chai, bookstores, little shops, and street corners that feel like home. It’s the opposite of Playa del Rey’s solitude, yet somehow it gives me the same thing: presence.
Acts 2 describes the early believers “breaking bread in their homes and eating together with glad and sincere hearts.” That’s the energy of Culver City for me. Humans living, laughing, trying, failing, rising again. It’s a reminder that God moves just as much in crowds as He does in the stillness of open water.
There’s a quote by Henry James that I love: “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; the third is to be kind.” Walking through Culver City always nudges me toward that kind of kindness. I see people’s faces, their busyness, their exhaustion, their hope, and I’m reminded that we’re all just trying our best to get through the day with grace.
And somewhere in there, Mark Twain’s words always land: “Explore. Dream. Discover.” That’s what Culver City feels like. A little slice of possibility.
Soul Insights
1. Presence is a spiritual practice.
Whether I’m watching waves crash or people crossing intersections, both places demand that I be here, fully. Presence slows the mind long enough for gratitude to rise. It makes room for God to speak in unexpected ways. And it reminds me that I don’t need to escape my life to meet Him. I just need to pay attention.
2. Beauty heals in layers.
The ocean heals differently than sunlight bouncing off brick buildings. One repairs the spirit through stillness; the other through connection. Both are legitimate. Both are holy. And both are needed if I want to stay balanced emotionally, spiritually, and creatively.
3. God meets us in ordinary places.
Not every revelation happens on a mountaintop. Some happen in a coffee line. Some happen on a quiet stroll across wet sand. God moves through the spaces we frequent, the paths we walk repeatedly, the corners where life quietly unfolds. These everyday altars keep our faith grounded and real.
4. We need both solitude and community.
My soul expands at the beach because I can hear myself think. It softens in Culver City because I remember I’m part of something bigger. Too much solitude isolates. Too much community overwhelms. The balance creates a life that breathes.
5. Joy is found in rhythm, not intensity.
Playa del Rey and Culver City aren’t dramatic places. They’re simple. Accessible. Familiar. But the rhythm they bring into my life is unmatched. They fill me in different ways, teaching me that joy doesn’t always show up loud. Sometimes it arrives quietly through consistency, familiarity, and the places we return to again and again.
Final Thoughts
I think we all need places that help us return to ourselves, places where we feel God’s nearness without working for it. My two are the beach and the heartbeat of downtown. Yours might be something entirely different. But finding them matters, because these places become our grounding points, the anchors that help us stay steady when life tries to pull us in too many directions.
Your Turn
Take a moment this week to visit the place where your soul exhales. And if you haven’t found it yet, make it a mission. Wander. Explore your city with new eyes. Let God meet you in the unexpected.
Then come back and tell me where your spirit breathes easiest.
By the way…
While you’re here, I’d love for you to explore my book 17 Syllables of Me and visit my website, Soul Path Insights.
Thank you for taking the time to read! 🤗
© 2025 Amelie Chambord
Soul Path Insights 
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