THE BEST USE OF THOREAU YET Finding Trees in Manhattan and the Joys of a Long Walk "I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
~Henry David Thoreau
Well, I guess that some friends of mine will laugh - because I always give Thoreau such a hard time. He's led around by his passions, incoherent at times, extremely self-absorbed, but witty. And, at times, totally right.
So many people in New York seem completely absent. They go from their houses to their jobs to their restaurants and then leave. I was falling into this trap over the past two weeks and so, this weekend, I set out to try and learn more about New York.
I went down (Torrey alert) to Riverside Park this weekend where they have trees (real trees!) but I also went to a Yankees game. I walked everywhere and ate a hot dog on the street and talked to everyone who looked like they were actually from this town and it was good for my soul. I needed to clear my head to make some time to hear myself think. My time at Lehman is so interesting and distracting that I often forget to listen to the world around me, being completely absorbed in the world of Wall Street and Powerpoint and formulae and statistics.
This past week has taught me much. I've made mistakes at work -to be sure- but I've also had some successes. I enjoy almost everything I do here, but I've been slowly "diminishing" as Tolkien has it (when referring to the elves who won't cross over the sea like they're meant to). Unlike the elves, however, I've been losing the spark of life because I haven't been in "God's great cathedral under the sky" enough (thank you John Muir for the terrific analogy).
On Saturday I sat in the sun at Yankee stadium and drank beer, had a hot dog, complained about the hot weather, and talked to an old friend. So I guess I really felt like a resident of the city I've been living in for over two months now. Then on Sunday I wandered around.
"Wandering" just doesn't get the respect it deserves. For, when I think about "wandering", I think of something exciting and a little bit adventurous -being led around by nothing in particular and just seeing where I end up. Yesterday (Sunday), after church, I didn't have any work to do, and so I packed up my camera, bought a sandwich and walked West. I hit Riverside park and then headed South. I think I walked down every side street West of Broadway and took pictures of everything interesting.
It was great.
It reminded me of how I used to take vacations when I still lived in Europe. Just get on a train, going somewhere, and occasionally pitch a tent and stay for a while. I once went through France to Oostende, caught a ferry to Dover and , arriving just a dusk, ended up pitching my campsite right in the middle of an old World War 2 era army base.
Randomness...
Anyway, yesterday took me down the West side and I eventually found a little street fair and bought a hot dog and a beer in honor of my previous day's lunch and took some pictures. The photo above is of the Hudson river with New Jersey in the background.
All in all, I walked for around 7 hours and didn't even get tired. I hope that in the future I can remember the way I feel today - much more thoughtful, almost completely relaxed, and not anxious for anything. As my summer in New York draws to a close I am starting to get excited about going back to school (for the last time?) but I hope that I stay engaged until the very second I leave here. Like Thoreau I hope to suck the marrow out of this experience and never find that, in leaving New York, I never really lived here . Posted July 21, 2008
Posted by: Auntie Bethie Hey, Christof, I enjoy your blog and am proud of you. Glad to hear you're enjoying your time in NY. Posted 2008-07-22 14:38:01 yes yes yes Posted by: mandy wandering defiitely doesn't get enough respect. to be alive and absorbing all around you (especially if it is not planned) is truly a gift. yay!
enjoy the rest of your summer. soon enough we'll be back in the 'ville, showing the first years just how cohesive a class we are! Posted 2008-07-26 12:31:41 Not all who wander are lost Posted by: Justin I think that's the first time I've ever seen a businessman reference Thoreau, John Muir, and Tolkien's Elves in one thought. I have to admit that I was waiting for a reference to Bilbo's poem about Aragorn, but I suppose that just proves that I'm as much a nerd as you are. You went down to the Pireaus (I mean, Riverside Park), but I think the real question is: where's the 4th?
I do think, though, that Whitman could serve you as a better guide than Thoreau in the city. Thoreau may have gone to the woods to find that he was living life, but Whitman found the same on every street corner and city bar. Leaves of Grass left me with an indelible impression that Whitman had a capacity to enjoy life beyond mortal men. Thoreau wrote essays about woodland creatures, but Whitman volunteered for years in a civil war hospitals cheering up the wounded.
So you were right to give Thoreau a hard time--on your day in New York, Whitman had more to say to you. And good work: even in Seattle, my home that I love, I usually forget how to live as a traveler (in the European adventure sense of the word). Way to keep thinking. Posted 2008-08-30 15:38:08 The 4th Posted by: Christof Meyer Thanks for the interesting comment.
The way I see it, the 4th element (quad-essence?) in this story is the ability to disconnect from time to time and simply enjoy the time given to us IN THE PRESENT. It is all too easy to always be looking around the corner for the next great thing and completely the things at our feet.
In case you're interested... I DID reference Bilbo's poem in another post, but since my archive feature broke I haven't been able to find it... My entry on the goodness of being lost - is lost.
It seems strangely appropriate don't you think? Posted 2008-08-31 13:57:09 COMMENT ON THIS POST
