The Peaceful Day in NY

It was both an ordinary but rare Sunday. The subway window rims cast geometric patterns that moved along the isles. The light passing through the windows bisected faces in light and dark. The sense of peacefulness was all-pervasive. People, dressed in unique, casual or toned-down attire, were squinting their eyes, looking outside the windows into the bright afternoon light. Sunbeams held time tightly in their strong grasp. Passengers sat in golden capsules. It was as if the sun embraced and memorialized all these New Yorkers, lining up their golden busts in a traveling Work Museum. Flashes of light, like sunshine reflecting off the ocean, danced in celebration though the air. Yes, it was an ordinary Sunday in New York, as I walked to the subway, but once on the train, a rare and magical, sunlight excursion took me to a place full of peacefulness and hope.

New York has its own pace, created by New Yorkers, and which victimizes New Yorkers. It is
frightening to see businesswomen and men constantly moving their fingers across their I-phone
keyboards like frantic squirrels rushing to bury their hoards of nuts for the winter. Reading and listening to audio books or music through headphones seem to afford a respite from daily urban tensions, but this “so-called” respite is certainly a continuation of sensory bombardment. The tempo of Times Square, like river rapids, pulls us away from the healthy environment of our inner space. Then why do people seem to choose overstimulation? Much like a child overloaded with sugar, we do not recognize the symptoms.

I believed that I would never become a New Yorker. Limiting myself to an average three hours of sleep in the-city-that-never-sleeps is simply something that I could never do. However, I have had my moments like the time when my sixteen-hour work day came into conflict with my need for winter clothes. I told my boss that I had to leave early to purchase winter clothes. Naturally, my company does not allow personal shopping time during the work day. However, my work day begins and ends as stores open and close; hence, my need for prevarication .