A myriad of lives reside here. With every walk of life the City buzzes with the energy of those living in their Park Avenue homes (while a house awaits them in the Hamptons) and those working 2 to 3 jobs with barely enough time to see their child to bed in between. There are representatives from virtually every corner of the globe, each creating its own pocket within the confines of these five Boroughs. Each one holds a special story, a tale of misfortune and luck, a story of love and loss, legends of faith and betrayal. Each charmed, if not at first, yet ultimately, by the City in which they dwell.
What could, to an outsider, seem difficult and too much hassle, the average New Yorker writes off as a small price to pay for the larger gains. Although seemingly different, they unite in their appreciation for what the City has to offer. And what I speak of is not the lights and noise that the herds that fill up 42nd Street on any given night may experience. It is not the expensive shops on 5th Avenue, the myriad of museums and cultural experiences, the endless options for food, the theatre and musical performances. It isn't even Lady Liberty in all her glory that distinguishes this City for those who call it home.
It is something much more meaningful. Something that breeds in the very fabric of its infrastructure, something easily overlooked by the visitors and superficial spectators.
It is in the man on the corner selling flowers who begins to know your name, your favorite restaurant that knows your order just by hearing your voice on the phone, the salon owner who sticks her head out the door as you walk by just to see how you are.
For within the masses and the craziness, the need to create a community begins to form. Out innate desire to connect and have witnesses to our lives begins to take precedence as we continue to interact with those in our immediate community. Slowly the large masses that surround us become more familiar. Friendships begin to form and we find ourselves connected to people and lives that we never imagined existed.
And in that connectedness, a deeper appreciation begins to form. A love and attachment that will never be replaced, for it was born out of true experience, out of feeling, and being.
And if you ever leave this place, it etches a memory on your heart that only you understand. No matter how you try and explain its validity to others it will only ever be felt by those who, like you, were once New Yorkers.
7 comments:
Yes, yes, yes it's true! Beautifully stated, Sahba.
enchanting description of the true beauty of new york city, the one you only see if you stick around long enough to notice it.
welcome back!
not a nyer and can still agree. this is really good you writer, educator, cousin & friend! so impressed.
Quite lovely Sahba. I didn't know you wrote so well. I loved what you wrote!
sabz this was beautiful. definitely what we feel and you expressed so incredibly. this is what I found so unique about nyc, how similar living there felt to being in a small town, and how the suburbs just feel so lonely in comparison. we love and miss you!! xoxo
heya sabz - spot on with that feeling you describe. i've not spent much time in NY (any, really) but i'm happy to report that that feeling can be felt in some other places too.
cosmopolitan is how i'd describe it. not in the sense of elite or sophisticated - quite the opposite really. i felt it in Amsterdam and in San Francisco. it's a feeling that despite manifest differences in culture, race, cuisine, language and even income, there is a great deal one has in common with one's neighbors simply by virtue of a shared living space.
but... you have to be open to it. far too many are either afraid of such openness, or prejudiced, or simply too busy or stressed. and you don't get it in suburban spaces because a critical mass of "people with differences" need to be smooshed together for it to happen. but when the environment permits, and people are not closed off, it's magical, as you describe.
thanks for a thought-provoking post.
forgot to mention -
Christopher Alexander explores this notion in some depth in "A Timeless Way of Building".
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