Vibrantly alive
- The Avenue des Champs-Élysées as seen from l’Arc de Triomphe, Paris 2005
“You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”
— Indira Gandhi
I love the city; I find its nonstop life energizing and stimulating. Even in the midst of the rush, we can pause long enough to bask in the sensory feast and focus on quiet details that might have escaped notice. In the same way, the most silent and secluded place offers an opportunity to awaken the senses to a bird’s song, a faint breeze or a corner of the imagination previously neglected. Even in sleep, we often encounter dreams that can help us process what our conscious minds avoid. I wish you a day that is vibrantly alive with observation, contemplation and joy.
Defeat Despair 
I love your observation about sleep and dreams! So true.
Carla, I wrote this post not long after the dream I told you about, where Matt (as a very young child) was carrying me when I got too exhausted to continue on a long, arduous path.
From 5th to 7th avenue between 47th and 50th street making my way toward Rockerfeller Center I can see, hear and witness the pulse of Manhattan. You can visit every country in the world as you walk past the many resturants and the smells waft from their establishments. The traffic buzzing along, bicycle riders zooming in and out of traffic, taxi’s speeding by, bus’s stopping to pick up passangers and dropping off others. People buying hot dogs from one of the many food vendor’s that reside on almost every corner, others buying curry chicken on a stick, and still others buying hot chestnuts, or Christmas trees. It is holiday time in New York City and everywhere you look there are decorations, music being played and colorful lights. Folks with shopping bags filled with colorfully wrapped boxes. You will see street vendors selling everything from winter hats to gold watches. As you walk you will hear every language spoken from the melting pot called Manhattan. The steam from the subway lines drift up from the grates imbeded in the sidewalks. You might walk past a person sleeping in a doorway covered with newspaper to keep warm from the bite of winter winds that rush throught the caverns of the tall buildings.
Yes Julia you are right it is energizing and stimulating and thank you for bringing those memories that are still etched in my heart to the forefront of this aging mind.
THANKS so much for this comment – I LOVE it! I have always loved NYC and my very first trip there was near Christmas time. Reading your post was like taking a mini-vacation back there this dreary morning. I am so happy you posted these words for me to enjoy. Perfect timing since yesterday was another hard day filled with bad news. Thanks for taking the time to share such vivid, evocative descriptions with me and I’m so glad to be in touch with another person who loves NYC (and cities in general) as I do. Have a wonderful day.
The thanks goes to you Julia, we will be heading up to New York on the 22nd. of Dec. and now thanks to you I am counting the days.:o)
Wonderful! Have a great time.
My younger son is in New York and I have been there twice. Too busy for me and sensory overload. I did like Brooklyn Botanical though. Also Coney Island. I need wave action.
MB
Mike, I think my husband would tend to agree with you. He has enjoyed our visits to NYC, but he does not get as energized by it as I always have. He does appreciate much of what it has to offer, though. But I doubt either of us would ever be able to tolerate living there. Now San Francisco is a different story…