Taking time to breath the fresh, crisp, autumn air

Weeks like this make me very grateful for the permanent people and values in my life. The turmoil in the markets, the fear in the faces of white collar workers, the buzz around the halls of mergers and layoffs. It gets to you. Or least it gets to me. Living in NYC and being so close to the heart of it all is at times sobering and at other times just desensitizing. I admit I get sucked into checking cnn.com and nytimes.com at least 100 times a day. And yet the news is such that there is nothing I can really do anyway so why continue to read depressing, fear driven headline hour after hour?

Last night I sat in Bryant Park with a friend who I miss so much. We have been through some bad points in each of our lives together and grown closer through it all. I think we spoke at least once a day, four years ago, and now we are checking our calendars to find time for a 30 minute phone conversation to catch up. Sometimes life seems to get in the way of living. Though seemingly not frequent enough, evenings like last night where we watched the sun set over the park and we conversed, advised, laughed, and shared until there was little less than a few street lamps to guide us out of the park was one of the better nights I can remember in awhile. A night of connecting and restoring the spirit and knowing what it means to truly have a friend.

Tonight I facilitated the women's group at the community center. Some nights it can feel more like a burden than a help when you literally sit in silence as the group stares at one another in a loss for words. This evening, two women from Gilda's Club came to our group to share information about GC and the services they offer. First I must say - WOW - the list of services available is beyond impressive and the community that they bring to those who need it the most is such an admirable mission. Beyond the sheer importance of such an organization in the community, the reality of cancer is sobering. To have known many who lost their lives to the disease and to be privileged to know a few who are survivors, it is experiences like these past two nights that bring life to a more grounded position.

In the end, does it matter where I work or how many hours I put in each day? In the end will it matter whether the bed was made everyday before I dash off to work? In the end does anyone notice whether the Board agenda had a typo? No. In reality, and in the end, it is moments like a cherished conversation with a dear friend and a community you know you can feel at home in that will be the lasting impression on your world.