One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” -Tom Wolfe.
Most of the time, we can control what drops into our subconscious at night, no more than we can control the weather. It has become apparent therefore, that my brain still lives in New York City while my body is about a 9 hour and 27 minute drive away. Because, on most nights you can find me and Mr Sandman still haunting the subway. While mentally I’m more than capable of masquerading through Manhattan, physically I have some serious work to do. It’s funny that even after a massive brain attack, such an assault cannot erase things like…. 1 Why you never get on an empty subway car (something awful is likely inside) 2 Navigating the subway is not that scary( although it’s helpful to know the difference between express and local trains!) 3 It’s likely that locals will never agree on which Borough is the best. And finally #4. New York City may very well be the last bastion for the American Dream. Why? Quite simply because the other “kids,” I met there were chasing such impossible dreams as getting my body to transport itself into the middle of Times Square. However, you know what? They did so without giving one iota of attention, to the naysayers who said their dreams were impossible. Oddly enough after the stroke happened to me I have more in common with them then I did before! Even though prior to the stroke I had been sharing the same physical space, I wasn’t in the same headspace. According to the dictionary, the definition of headspace is the unfilled space left above the contents in a sealed container. I think it’s rather important to fill that space with things that lift you up rather then bring you down. If living in the city of dreams(and often hard knocks) taught me anything it’s that you are far more capable then you think! Attitude definitely dictates your altitude. So, don’t let the words or ill intentions of other people, crash your plane into the ground.
“I think developed countries – so-called developed countries – should reflect upon the way of living and the waste of energy.”- Hugo Chavez.
Just so you know, ownership is an illusion. Because, we can’t take anything with us when this life reaches its final chapter. Therefore, this means you are pretty much a custodian of inanimate objects. The question is, how big of acustodian job do you want? The more stuff you have the bigger the burden. So much of our time(and life) gets eaten up by working for, shopping for, and paying for said items, and then taking care of it all! AfterI nearlydied these inanimate objects lost nearly all their value to me. I began not only going through the loads of things I owned but also giving away and selling much of it. I no longer foundas much value inobjects as I once had.Simply put, you assign value to things, they don’t assign value to you. Our culture is unbelievably wasteful to the point of insanity. I still marvel at the hoards of things that occupy giant shopping malls. What happens to it all? Where does it all go? Furthermore, do wereally need any of it!? Just watch the video below. Also, avoid regular trips to Forever 21, H&M, and the website Modcloth.com!
A designer purse will not make you happier, just asno inanimate object was going to restore thephysical functions I nearly lost in my body. Therefore,I saw no point in becoming a collector of things that would only burden me. At some point I even questioned a bewildered friend, what the point of saving money was. Since it really didn’tserve me at the time or hold as much value anymore. When younearly lose everything, lets just say your perspective changes a bit. The continual dancethat people do, to obtain and maintain essentially useless objects became very unnecessary to me. Instead of petitioning for a better environment, perhaps we should quit dumping tons of unnatural materials into theEarth.Our time would be better spent on experiences that create incredible memories, rather than objectsthat cause us grief.Additionally we could use our resources to help another person either financially or with our time. Now that is something very worth doing!