Every visit to New York brings a new opportunity for exploring. On Sunday, Molly and I had the chance to meander through one small corner of Central Park. We've never had the time to do justice to this New York treasure on previous visits, but on Sunday we ended up with a little extra time. We walked across the entire park at the very southern end.
The day was sunny, but brutally cold. And the park was filled with people. The remnants of Thursday's snow storm were very much in evidence. Dozens of children were sledding down hills that were dotted with snowmen.
Whoever thought of putting a huge park in the middle of New York was a genius.
Central Park was established in 1857. At the beginning, it was slightly smaller, but today it totals 840 acres. What caught my attention first was the sheer size of the park. It seems to go on forever. And, despite what I expected, the park isn't just a flat piece of land. It almost seems to be its own world - with hills high enough to climb (and, of course, high enough to use for sledding).
Even on this very cold day, the park was filled with people. In less than an hour, we heard dozens of different languages. People were running and walking, taking pictures and playing in the snow, sipping warm drinks and looking at maps. Molly and I got a kick out of some international visitors who were excitedly taking pictures of squirrels. We tended to take the squirrels for granted, but some people seemed utterly fascinated by them.
We watched people skating on the ice rink and peeked in at the sea lion exhibit at the Central Park Zoo. Best of all, we saw the statue of Balto, the sled dog famous for delivering the diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, during the epidemic of 1925. Our family loved the movie about Balto that we saw years ago, and I've always wanted to see his statue in Central Park. Almost accidentally, we found him in our wandering. Molly didn't take any pictures of squirrels, but she did take a picture of Balto.
The rest of our crew was visiting another part of the city, so our time in Central Park was short. There's plenty more to explore there, and I suspect that we'll do that on our next visit. Still, our short visit on Sunday was pretty good. Deep in the park it's hard to remember that you're standing in the middle of a massive city. Somehow, though, in the middle of all the noise and busyness, there is this place of peace. Right in the middle of all the chaos, there is this place to walk and think and look.
We didn't stay there long. Soon, we jumped back on a subway and once again found ourselves in the middle of the bustling crowds. But it was good to pull away for a few minutes and breathe differently.
It was good to step away from the busyness.
I don't live very close to Central Park, but I suspect that it would be a good thing to step away from the busyness of my life from time to time. In fact, that would probably be a good thing for all of us. And we can choose to do that - even when there's not a park nearby. With or without a park, pulling away is a good spiritual discipline - and it will allow us to see the world with different eyes.
Regardless of how busy we are, we can choose to live differently. In fact, making that choice is as easy as . . . a walk in the park.
Even on this very cold day, the park was filled with people. In less than an hour, we heard dozens of different languages. People were running and walking, taking pictures and playing in the snow, sipping warm drinks and looking at maps. Molly and I got a kick out of some international visitors who were excitedly taking pictures of squirrels. We tended to take the squirrels for granted, but some people seemed utterly fascinated by them.
We watched people skating on the ice rink and peeked in at the sea lion exhibit at the Central Park Zoo. Best of all, we saw the statue of Balto, the sled dog famous for delivering the diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, during the epidemic of 1925. Our family loved the movie about Balto that we saw years ago, and I've always wanted to see his statue in Central Park. Almost accidentally, we found him in our wandering. Molly didn't take any pictures of squirrels, but she did take a picture of Balto.
The rest of our crew was visiting another part of the city, so our time in Central Park was short. There's plenty more to explore there, and I suspect that we'll do that on our next visit. Still, our short visit on Sunday was pretty good. Deep in the park it's hard to remember that you're standing in the middle of a massive city. Somehow, though, in the middle of all the noise and busyness, there is this place of peace. Right in the middle of all the chaos, there is this place to walk and think and look.
We didn't stay there long. Soon, we jumped back on a subway and once again found ourselves in the middle of the bustling crowds. But it was good to pull away for a few minutes and breathe differently.
It was good to step away from the busyness.
I don't live very close to Central Park, but I suspect that it would be a good thing to step away from the busyness of my life from time to time. In fact, that would probably be a good thing for all of us. And we can choose to do that - even when there's not a park nearby. With or without a park, pulling away is a good spiritual discipline - and it will allow us to see the world with different eyes.
Regardless of how busy we are, we can choose to live differently. In fact, making that choice is as easy as . . . a walk in the park.