walk with no agenda no destination in mind. just look at the trees and the plants and the houses and the people. listen to a song that makes you happy (this song makes me happy). look for things you wouldn’t normally see. enjoy the moment.
listen, walks rock. and i don’t care if you are on your smart phone or your little walkman doing your hot girl walk. i think it’s sometimes beautiful and really relaxing to do half of my walks with no music and my phone put away. i tend to notice people more.. their weird annoying mannerisms.. i find more buildings and flowers beautiful and i’m reminded for better or worse i’m not the only one on this earth !
This is my #1 absolute all time favorite activity. If you have approximately 2 hours (ideally in early fall or early spring) with nothing in particular to do, take a walk around the city with no destination in mind and see what happens. Maybe you’ll make eye contact for a moment with an attractive person in the crosswalk on 17th and 3rd and see your entire lifetime together flash before your eyes. Or you could catch a glimpse of yourself in the reflection of a Chase bank and remember that you are indeed a person who is alive and on planet earth. Maybe you get an overpriced coffee for some human interaction, drink 2 sips and throw it out while feeling bad about yourself. However you choose to spend that time, it’s yours to waste, and a way to experience the city without the errands and dramas one usually faces in New York. And it’s a great way to hyperfixate on a guilty pleasure song. Recommended tracks for this activity: “Bittersweet Symphony” by the Verve or “I Had a Dream That You Were Mine” by Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam.
bizarre book, a lot of interesting themes are explored through these short stories. spoiler alert: why so many dead kids and babies?????????
a lot to laugh and ponder about