It looks like it's time to start up the roommate search—a development that came out of left field. Every few years or so, life throws some curve balls our way to keep us on our toes. I often wonder how realistic of a dream it is to hope for some stability in life; after all, aren’t security and stability just illusions? It would be nice to have something or someone there to whom you can wake up to every day and say “Aha, there you are. I knew you’d be there. And, what’s more, I know you’ll be there tomorrow.” But it seems that’s not the way it goes down in this life. Right when you get all cozy and comfortable life shakes the living shit out of you and forces you to continue living—change if you will. My aunt was a healthy woman, and everything in her life was going smoothly; yet for some strange reason she got into a serious car accident last week and is now having a machine do the breathing for her in the ICU. We all believe she will get better, pray, but still…it’s hard. Things like this happen all the time and nobody really knows what they mean. Some people choose to question them, and yet others just accept them as the facts of life. Being facts is nice and all, but it doesn’t make them easier to bear. Ironically, at the end of the day, after all the analysis, thought, and search for understanding has worn us out, we are faced with but one option—acceptance.

I think I am beginning to understand what is so powerfully attracting for me about New York. It is the city of constant change, and not only are the people living here good at dealing with change—it’s deeper than that—they’ve experienced adversity in life and have realized—or maybe accepted would be a better word—that this is the nature of life. As you see in this photograph of 5th Ave, despite the sometimes severe challenges New Yorkers are faced with, they continue on with their lives. After all, what choice do they have?

Nikon D80 / Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 / iso200 f5.6 1/20sec 17mm