Damn Lion

Written on 11/2/16 after reading this daily news subscription for over a year.

There’s a lot to love about NYC, but what I love most is how we do life together. 

Cable is kind of a luxury, so instead of watching the debate at home, the bar down the street is packed full of people watching… together. 

Nobody has washing machines, so we all take it to the laundry mat and wait for it… together. 

Driving never makes any sense, so we take public transportation… together. 

Kitchens are so small (and groceries are expensive), so every night of the week restaurants are full of people eating… together. 

Parks and city views are few and far between, so we are out looking at the skyline or sitting on a park bench reading… together. 

You could argue that nobody is actually “together” since you might only (slightly) make eye-contact with someone…

But, I think there is something special about seeing others in their lives - doing very normal things - on a regular basis. Even if it’s just a glimpse. 

You come here to experience the city, which keeps you anywhere but home. 

There’s this quote I really like, it goes something like… “Pay close attention to what breaks your heart.” I think about it a lot. Are the right things breaking my heart? Am I spending my emotions in a way that reflect what I say I believe? Am I more upset about how bad the guy next to me on the train smells or his accessibility to take a shower? The more I’ve thought about that, the more I’m convinced I should be paying close attention to anything that moves me, not just what breaks me. Every day I see and hear so much content. More than ever before. Whether it’s a conversation, my Twitter feed, a sermon from Church, an Instagram photo, walking the streets of NYC, watching a movie… you get the idea. I think most of it goes in one ear, out the other. “Oh that’s a cute haircut,” “That’s funny,” “What a sad story,” are things I say or think in the moment, but forget the next. So I’m trying to be very mindful of what means anything to me. The pictures I can’t get out of my head. The tweet I’m still thinking about. The quote I read that resonated with me. All of the content that doesn’t disappear from my memory. I think by being mindful I can actually take what moves me and be changed by it. Either by it challenging me to become better (which can look like a million different things), or helping me recognize more about who I am - what makes me laugh, what makes me sad, what brings me joy. The last thing I want is to move through life unaffected and unchanged. 

1. I wish I could have a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast every morning.

2. When I see Mary Kate or Ashley Olsen, who’s name should I yell? I wish I could learn to tell them apart.

3. I wonder if she regrets the Chanel logo tattoo behind her ear?

4. What if Brad and Angelina’s breakup actually ruined your day?

5. I don’t think it’s fair to put a 2 year-old in a “I’m with Hillary" t-shirt. *

1. There is no such thing as personal space on the Subway. 

See Exhibit A.

2. Right when you think things can’t get much worse, they do.

See Exhibit B.

for every time I saw Alec Baldwin, I’d have $3.