ever flowing

 I often forget New York City’s proximity to water even though Manhattan is quite literally, an island - it shows how all-consuming the city can be. Flanked by the Hudson and East Rivers, New York City reminds me of a saying from the Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. He poignantly reflected, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for its not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Much like the rivers that bisect the city, NYC is not the same city twice…nor are its inhabitants. Some days there is a palpable energy coursing down Broadway; others a quiet slumber covering the skyline. I like to view the city as an organism and the people as millions of cells that make it whole.

 Cruising around on my bike, or lumbering underground on the subway, I see the many faces and hats the city wears. The lines of construction workers grabbing a mid-morning pick-me-up, the nurses and businesspeople at the ferry, and the day care children tethered to one another enroute to the playground. When a stranger helps an old woman lug her rollster up the subway steps, a child going limp on a walk with their disheveled father, or an Amazon delivery person carrying way too many packages. The reprieve in someone’s eyes on a fire escape during a cigarette break or a quick slice of scalding hot pizza. These are all moments that make me smile, slow down, and internalize the fast paced nature of New York City.

When you view the city as its own entity you start to reverse the feeling of “alone together” and truly feel, together. So, I implore you to interact with a stranger, smile at your neighbor, engage with them about the weather even though it’s a banal talking point because we rely on one another – because we’re part of the same heartbeat of a malleable, ever flowing river.

gb