A late afternoon stroll. Late August in DC - steamy and slow. A sleeping baby snuggled into my warm chest. A need to find shade and relative quiet. Newport Street. Walking up and down; up and down. Slowly. Noticing.
It was these walks that seemed to happen for a few consecutive days around 5pm that allowed me to open my eyes to the mystery and beauty of the city that I have lived in for seven years. With the slow walk that is foreign to a city dweller, I soon found myself in awe of the sheer number of people who nestled into just one block of this city street. People's lives stacked on top of each other; a mishmash of stories.
I wondered: what is it that draws people to the city? Is it the undeniable human hunger for connection? For closeness? Is it the desire to live amidst the chaos and to have others to share it with? There are many things in the city that distract us from our humanity and the earth on which we reside, but perhaps it is just this - our common humanity - that pulls us here in the first place.
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