Jerusalem - Powerfully Multipolar
Indeed, isn't a place nothing but its people? If so, I would say, Jerusalem has a multiple personality disorder!
While in Tel Aviv, I perceived a frenzied energy that served as a the steam outlet of all that pent up tension, here life was rather unremarkably normal on the surface. Despite the looming presence of the Western Wall and all its emotions, that even as an utter outsider with no ties, I was overwhelmed by! One of the defining moments of my trip to the country was at the Western Wall.
As I walked to the wall, at one point, I felt overtaken by a dense wave of energy - an incredibly sad one. And, I found myself uncontrollably crying, tears streaming down my cheeks without control, even as my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening.
THE SPIRIT OF THE CANYON
The majestic red mountains. I had just summited them. I did not tame them, nay, I had simply monkeyed up and perched on top.
I had neither conquered nor had been conquered.
As I sat atop the ‘dune’ in bliss, from the physical effort of getting there, I felt the breeze caressing my face, my mind emptying and a strange stirring within, the beginning of a release. I cycled back downhill. Wings took shape. Where once they had been tied down by circumstances, they hesitantly spread out and I learnt to fly, once again.
The mountains speak to you, you’ll see, they said. The desert is a fountain of life, they said. Take a trip alone, they said. You will find yourself and come back with new understanding, they said.
{walk} New York : Gowanus and Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
I share a few photos of a little area called Gowanus and Cobble Hill in Brooklyn and where to eat recommendations, at the end of the post. Gowanus is an infamous canal that runs through part of Brooklyn, separating the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, both being the strongholds of well-heeled European immigrants since New York City was born. Cobble Hill runs along and offshoots from Smith Street that houses some amazing spots, a mix of the nomadic, charmed past of Brooklyn to the nuevo craft inspired and yoga centric present.
The Duck in the Harbor + Friday Links
