New York City & Independence Day (July 4, 2009)

This Independence Day marks the anniversary of my move to NYC. It also signifies my departure. I moved here after months of living on the road in order to get out of the car and to re-center. It might seem like Manhattan isn’t the ideal place to ground oneself, but for me the opposite has been true. There is so much stimulation here – so much energy spiraling around and so many sensations recording themselves every moment – that in order to adapt to city life I have been forced to look within, and to find peace amid car alarms and drunken brawls. Which isn’t to say there aren’t days I feel like I’m losing my mind -

- but after a brief struggle and discomfort, I always find it again. Repeat, repeat, repeat – like a record that skips. I often think of the city as the turntable in Lauryn Hill’s video for “Everything is Everything” -

Man, there have been days when I felt like some unseen DJ was reaching down from the sky and scratching my record. Yet after one full rotation around the sun, I’m still standing. I realize it’s that which doesn’t move that enables us to move. A stabilized center enables the record to spin and the music to play, just as the earth’s journey around the sun…. Then the transition from chaos to calm becomes as simple as flipping a switch -

- though sometimes that switch can be hard to find in the dark. In which case it helps to be around people who encourage you (me) to keep stretching and feeling against the walls. Because the light is always within reach. Often where you least expect it.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me find the light this year, and especially those of you who sent me in the dark to look for it. I think I’ve found the switch. Just in time for the fireworks.

Happy Independence Day.

xo

New York City & Independence Day (July 4, 2009)

This Independence Day marks the anniversary of my move to NYC. It also signifies my departure. I moved here after months of living on the road in order to get out of the car and to re-center. It might seem like Manhattan isn’t the ideal place to ground oneself, but for me the opposite has been true. There is so much stimulation here – so much energy spiraling around and so many sensations recording themselves every moment – that in order to adapt to city life I have been forced to look within, and to find peace amid car alarms and drunken brawls. Which isn’t to say there aren’t days I feel like I’m losing my mind -

- but after a brief struggle and discomfort, I always find it again. Repeat, repeat, repeat – like a record that skips. I often think of the city as the turntable in Lauryn Hill’s video for “Everything is Everything” -

Man, there have been days when I felt like some unseen DJ was reaching down from the sky and scratching my record. Yet after one full rotation around the sun, I’m still standing. I realize it’s that which doesn’t move that enables us to move. A stabilized center enables the record to spin and the music to play, just as the earth’s journey around the sun…. Then the transition from chaos to calm becomes as simple as flipping a switch -

- though sometimes that switch can be hard to find in the dark. In which case it helps to be around people who encourage you (me) to keep stretching and feeling against the walls. Because the light is always within reach. Often where you least expect it.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me find the light this year, and especially those of you who sent me in the dark to look for it. I think I’ve found the switch. Just in time for the fireworks.

Happy Independence Day.

xo

New York City & Independence Day (July 4, 2009)

This Independence Day marks the anniversary of my move to NYC. It also signifies my departure. I moved here after months of living on the road in order to get out of the car and to re-center. It might seem like Manhattan isn’t the ideal place to ground oneself, but for me the opposite has been true. There is so much stimulation here – so much energy spiraling around and so many sensations recording themselves every moment – that in order to adapt to city life I have been forced to look within, and to find peace amid car alarms and drunken brawls. Which isn’t to say there aren’t days I feel like I’m losing my mind -

- but after a brief struggle and discomfort, I always find it again. Repeat, repeat, repeat – like a record that skips. I often think of the city as the turntable in Lauryn Hill’s video for “Everything is Everything” -

Man, there have been days when I felt like some unseen DJ was reaching down from the sky and scratching my record. Yet after one full rotation around the sun, I’m still standing. I realize it’s that which doesn’t move that enables us to move. A stabilized center enables the record to spin and the music to play, just as the earth’s journey around the sun…. Then the transition from chaos to calm becomes as simple as flipping a switch -

- though sometimes that switch can be hard to find in the dark. In which case it helps to be around people who encourage you (me) to keep stretching and feeling against the walls. Because the light is always within reach. Often where you least expect it.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me find the light this year, and especially those of you who sent me in the dark to look for it. I think I’ve found the switch. Just in time for the fireworks.

Happy Independence Day.

xo