birth of islands

i walked the high line impromptu earlier this week 

after exploring victoria beckham's sensory immersive experience

staged there as part of her reverie fragrance launch.

the sunshine was glorious and the foliage bright gold.

a clean, fresh breeze infused the air with notes of cedar, vanilla and tonka bean,

victoria's dream.

at one point, i paused to sit in the shade on a bench along the rails,

tree branches forming a billowing canopy overhead.

a big yellow leaf floated from above 

and landed at my feet.

i left it there but as it did not blow away,

i decided that it was somehow meant for me and picked it up,

twirled it between my fingers,

and carried it with me for the rest of the afternoon.

a certain calm stayed with me all evening.

and the next morning,

i happened to read sarah blondin's reflection on receiving

which magically mirrored my moments on the high line. 

"love persists, waiting to catch a fallen leaf,"  she writes.

and speaks of inviting uncertain forces within 

to sit with us quietly in the shade awhile, 

the rewards of silence being to learn gentleness and trust, among other healing gifts.

(sarah's meditative words are in the link below)

goodbye, October and luminous full moon nights.

happy November, a month in which to receive with gratitude while also letting go.

xx

birth of islands, teresa solar abboud

https://sarahblondin.substack.com/p/when-resistance-becomes-river?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=400472&post_id=150268771&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=18of1h&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

beach rocks

they find me, never the other way around.... 

from a sunday in mid july,
compo beach, westport, ct

 

Sunday morning seagull

last week, Lighthouse Beach,
Chatham Cape Cod

 

Memorial mood

from riverside drive

 

this time last weekend

in riverside park...

 

garter goals

on west broadway, tribeca

 

sky writing

after the verdict yesterday in Minneapolis, a huge storm this afternoon in NYC. 

outside my store, torrential rain came down in sheets, then stopped as quickly as it had begun.  

in the nearby west village, i was told heavy hail followed. 

by dusk, a big, blue-gray heart floated in the sky above, maybe even a double heart.

at least, it appeared as a heart to me when something made me turn to look back toward the river before heading east for my commute home.

look for a sign, my best friend has always told me in my moments of uncertainty. 

and hearts are always my signs. 

i pray for continued healing for the grieving family of George Floyd and for all communities suffering ongoing trauma, loss and fear.  

i pray that the heavens will help us find the way toward love, it's right there, before our very eyes...

meatpacking,
looking east from little west 12th street...

 

on Martin Luther King Jr Day

On this day of remembrance, looking back to the crisp December morning in 2017 on which i traveled by train to Washington DC to discover the bright, bronze-hued National Museum of African American History and Culture.   i was joined there by a talented designer i had worked with a few years prior while curating local finds for the lifestyle store created for Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown.

Jennifer and i shared the journey through the museum and the full range of emotions accompanying it, a physical, emotional and spiritual pilgrimage of sorts from which it was impossible not to emerge changed. 

One aspect of the experience i responded to most were the quotes by legendary African American writers, poets and leaders engraved into the walls of the now iconic David Adjaye designed structure, from Maya Angelou to Langston Hughes to Martin Luther King Jr himself. 

In the grand interior Contemplation Court meant for quiet and reflection, Dr King's words echoed through the force of water raining down into a cylindrical pool from a skylight above:  "We are determined ... to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." 

We look to the future again this week, looking forward to new hope, to change, beginning with the upcoming inauguration and the first Youth Poet Laureate, and youngest inaugural poet ever, Amanda Gorman, to share her words, and her vision when she reads a poem written at the invitation of Joe and Jill Biden, "The Hill We Climb."   

The mighty legacy of Dr King and so many other courageous men and women, flows on...

national museum of african american history and culture
(photos, mine) 

all manner of magic

how my walk after work began..... 

 

Sunday evening, meatpacking magic

oh Christmas tree!

praise for the tree this year, and for the resilient little owl who traveled with it to the city, too!!  

i love new york! 

xoxo

Rockefeller center...

 

Peace

at the Jacob Lawrence exhibit, The American Struggle, this vibrant jewel simply entitled Peace stood out to me....

the series demands the viewer's attention to both paintings and accompanying text and given social distancing protocols, requires time and patience to view but is well worth taking in, slowly walking around the room, and then perhaps again, quietly, deliberately, in rhythm with the bold tempera brushstrokes applied by Lawrence to his 30 small masterpieces that lead us through critical moments in our nation's early history as interpreted through the eye of the confident, caring artist...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/arts/design/jacob-lawrence-metropolitan-museum.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/these-missing-jacob-lawrence-paintings-are-finally-in-a-museum--and-theyre-masterpieces/2020/01/23/aec3ffa2-3d21-11ea-b90d-5652806c3b3a_story.html

 

imagine

on west 79th street...

it's just love

rainbow effect...

on w 18th street, Pride....

Nam

at LAND, Nam always wears her smile...

at LAND restaurant, amsterdam avenue...

waterfall

we are in a polar vortex now but Monday was milder and the sun was bright and while downtown for a meeting, i found myself opposite the Memorial for the first time and walked over to rest my hand on the names of those lost and to gaze into the fast, falling water...

september 11 memorial

when you are walking to the subway...

and behold the biggest mural in nyc!!

city as school.... 
https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/largest-mural-nyc
@wearecityas

@magdaloveart
@kobrastreetart
@lisageronimo
@mariakrajewski 

honor

gratitude, peace and light this morning amidst the tumultuous midterm election results, another tragic shooting in our nation, catastrophic wildfires raging and more....    

thank you to our veterans, our volunteers and good citizens who sacrifice, who serve! 

Sunday, west end avenue...