8.08.2006
A trait to emulate
Read this post from NotANewYorker. I left a longish comment there, so feel no need to repeat it.
I thought it was just my lovely grandparents who continually went out of their way to do acts of chessed (kindness) for friends and strangers, Jews and non-Jews, until I visited Omaha and found out that there are whole communities who act this way. Palo Alto, CA, where I have also spent time, is also a warmer, friendlier, go-out-of-your-way-to-make-others'-lives-easier kind of place. There is something to be said for living in a place where you have the time, energy, and space to think about someone other than yourself. I think it can be very hard in a large city where everyone is so programmed, so scheduled, so terrified of losing themselves to the sheer chaos of it all. The energy that (some) people love about New York may also be one of its great failings.
Add this to my reasons to leave New York City:
I thought it was just my lovely grandparents who continually went out of their way to do acts of chessed (kindness) for friends and strangers, Jews and non-Jews, until I visited Omaha and found out that there are whole communities who act this way. Palo Alto, CA, where I have also spent time, is also a warmer, friendlier, go-out-of-your-way-to-make-others'-lives-easier kind of place. There is something to be said for living in a place where you have the time, energy, and space to think about someone other than yourself. I think it can be very hard in a large city where everyone is so programmed, so scheduled, so terrified of losing themselves to the sheer chaos of it all. The energy that (some) people love about New York may also be one of its great failings.
Add this to my reasons to leave New York City:
- "My Daddy owns more buildings than your Daddy!" (Abacaxi Mamao, 12/19/05 )
- mongrammed spit-up cloths (Abacaxi Mamao, 2/9/06)
- higher incidence of depression and general mental distress (New York Times, 4/10/06)
- staying makes you less likely to go out of your way to help other people (NotANewYorker, 8/8/06)
and now...
Labels: New York
# posted by Abacaxi Mamao : 8/08/2006 05:08:00 PM
