Elephants in New York

While walking through the jungle of skyscrapers in New York City, I felt like the Tiniest Elephant, yesterday. I felt small (and not in stature, I hear you giggling) realizing I'm taking on the biggest "dog eat dog" city in the world, and it's a whirlwind.

New York is a place where one is expected to be puzzle pieces all in one place - hair and yoga pants included. Everyone has an ear piece, conducting business and the brisk bustle of the streets almost requires underwater survival skills. Fall below the expectations, and you may be not come out alive. People watching is like information overload. The city shadows the sun, but the pockets of rays are a welcome warmth.

I couldn't help but wonder what chance I had trying on the "hustle" in America's darling city. But I check myself and realize it's temporary, and so what if I stick out like a sore thumb? Must I conform completely? Nah. I can pick up the pace, but I dare not change me. 

And it's true, there are those slices of charming humanity, like the other day, during one of my less successful days. After feeling on the run from a jealous king, there was James, the union-construction worker who picked up a load and helped me down the street. He had time to kill before his union meeting and told me to be careful in NY. Then later there was Connie, the elderly woman with a bulged cheek, hunched over a walker. She walked up to me, said hello and asked my name, just for the sake of being kind. There are these people, these circumstances, when for just a moment, the harsh skyscrapers are down to earth, acting like gemstones in the rough, worth millions. 

New challenges require sacrifices, for the better and even for the worse, I'm learning. But at the end of day, the push just might be the potion I need to stretch a little taller...and that's coming from five feet of insanity.