moments of city beauty 2 [+ appendices]

- after morning-tutoring in brooklyn, glorying in the blessedly-warm 45 degree weather (no i kid not - this is warm... i promise) i walked the entire 2.5 mile-length of central park today, and oh!!! was stunned at the beauty... especially while walking in the west-side shadow of the gorgeously neo-classical art-deco splendor that is the san remo apartment building [pictured] - it's incredible how quiet the park is, even just 10 feet from the uber-crowded manhattan street, there is truly a remarkable stillness that i find intoxicating*

- nuts 4 nuts [consumed while thus walking] = my favorite manhattan street food = hot, freshly honey roasted peanuts/cashews/almonds = heaven**

- further walking through morningside park, a huge craggy hill on the northwest corner of central park in the shadow of...

- the cathedral of st. john the divine, with it's full 600+ foot gothic nave, complete with a byzantine-style cross-dome reminiscent of istanbul, and multiple vaulted side chapels reminiscent of oxford. i found such a great deal of peace within these walls today, and was so grateful for the place - i had seen it's massive edifice before, but had yet to venture inside until today, whereupon i felt in my heart "i never want to leave new york", because even here i can find myself a cozy gothic side chapel with stain glass to feel calm and reflective. the city has everything, and i couldn't be more contented to live where i do.

* appendix 1: i watched before sunset again this weekend, a beautifully simple filmed conversation between 2 actors in real time. at one point the ethan hawke character explains what he'd like to write for his upcoming book, and how his idea is really to expand all that occurs in the span of 3 minutes - how the idea of something momentary is really a lie, how each moment really contains so many other external moments at the same time. today i felt this so vividly: walking past a small pond on the far northwest corner of central park, amidst the gray, crisp weather, i was completely transported back to the hills behind bergen, norway where mom, dad, lincoln, mimi, and i all hiked through dense fog, coming upon a similar body of water amidst forested norwegian splendor. similarly while walking up the steep steps of the great hill at the top of the park, i was immediately returned to the similar [though much more intense and steep...] earthen stairways lining the valley verzasca in switzerland, where i hiked this past august. it's amazing how palpable the past can be at certain moments, and how many past moments live within us and comprise our immediate reality. huzzah for the complexity of the brain :)

** appendix 2: on a much lighter note, the nuts 4 nuts man was shocked to hear i was actually american, because he was convinced i was turkish. and he was turkish himself. hm. really? what about me looks turkish? hahahaha well i'll take it as a compliment.