I have spoken many times about my love affair with Brooklyn. I don’t know if it’s because my roots are here, or because I grew up idolizing the (original) Dodgers vicariously through my father. I just feel such a kinship with this place. The music it inspires, the food, the smells, the sights the very vibe itself. It all comprises more than enough to balance the chilly evenings and the occasional wait for a train. The longer I live here the more I understand why so much literature and art has been inspired here.
I’ve done more writing since moving to Brooklyn than I have in all my adult life. I’ve even felt inspired to write poetry, which was never even a thought before living here.
Today was not an easy day, but I remembered the very simple things when I felt stress. I remembered to breathe and breathe deeply, and to be mindful of the people around me. The relationship of pain and physical stress is an intimate one, it never ceases to amaze me how much of discomfort can be caused by forgetting posture, or to think about the breath.
When things felt difficult I focused, and I decided to choose what would affect me. It wasn’t perfect, but it helped, and it was much better. I know that if I continue to think in this pattern eventually it will come without thinking and make my life much easier. By the end of my day I was so much less exhausted than I often am on these crazy busy Monday’s.
And then I came home to Brooklyn, and the night wasn’t quite as dark as it was a month ago. And though I won’t say I’ll pine for the winter when it’s gone, I must say that I’m starting to feel winters place in the balance of all of this, so much more so than before.
For now though, the cold will be my friend and I’ll find peace in it as well.
