Gotham City Soul

This is my amazing friend Sacha Jones, whom I love very much. I have things that I want to tell you about her but, for now I want to tell you about some things I heard a few Sundays back, things that made me sit in a content silence after I heard them and smile into the soft dark of my living room, things I would not have heard if Sacha had not invited me along with her that day. Because I don’t want you to turn away from this piece, I’ll keep it simple and quick and not tell you everything. Just the highlights. I learned that my consciousness is a c ollection of karma , memories, and desire. Isn’t that beautiful? I learned that I must learn to be comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and unpredictability. I can be alright without knowing the very next thing. I don’t have to act immediately on every “problem” that comes along. I don’t have to understand everything right away. Sometimes I can do nothing, and nothing is fine—I can’t tell you how that takes the pressure off. ...

This morning I got an e mail newsletter from my friend and health counselor Sacha Jones telling me that over the next few years, New York City is going to be planting a million trees. That's great news on its own, but it gets better: We get to help decide where! Go directly here if you want to cut to the chase and put in your vote. I did; it took me about a minute. Wouldn't it be nice to have a new tree on your block? Not to mention the extra pollution and CO2 filtering effect and the oxygen . And the birds. Red-tailed hawks and even a Great horned owl have been spotted in nearby Tompkin's Square Park. And the shade! And the spring buds. And standing under a tree in the rain. Perhaps I'm feeling even more passionate about trees than usual because a tornado took down a huge maple tree in front of my childhood home (and still my home) in South Jersey a couple of weeks ago. If you'd like more information you can visit the Million Trees Project. If anyone out the...