Juxtapose

My new commute takes me through Times Square and the Theatre District on foot. Each day I’m amazed at how many people there are. And, I’m often frustrated with all of them. Someone in front of me always seems to be smoking. There are so many little men with pamphlets. It smells, it’s crowded. And the tourists, oh, the tourists.

I could find a new commute. And I think, eventually, I will. But despite all the nutsos out there, I have to admit there is something about that energy. People come from all over the world to see this billboard-ridden neon palace and there’s a reason for that. There’s a buzz in the air.

It’s certainly not my favorite place to spend time. But today I was helped by a little Krishna Das on my iPod. At least, that way the rhythm and the energy of the crowds were tempered, or integrated into, the chanting. Perhaps I’d rather be on a green hillside feeling the grass between my toes, but there’s something to this vertical wonderland. Something exhausting, but something intagibly, forcefully energizing, too.