Attitude In A New York Minute

There is so much in life to take in as we move through it. Even when busy, I have been learning over these years to try and take in the goodness of things around me. Making sure that I experience and recognize the events and people happening as I pass through it.

An example of this would be a recent day trip up to New York. Flying in late on a Sunday evening, a cab ride into lower Manhattan, checking in and preparing for an early Monday morning meeting. Then another cab ride back out to take a flight back to Atlanta, hitting Atlanta rush hour traffic at its peak. As the saying goes, it felt like a 'New York Minute'.

Yet I have always liked going to New York City. The madness of it all can be overwhelming if you can not put it into context. Sure, lots of traffic, lots of people, everyone and thing going at a fast pace. But you can ease into the pace when you need to but you can easily find ways to simply step to the side and observe. To stop and watch others, you will find that life is happening like it is in any city around the world.

People are rushing to work, to home, to a meeting, shopping or maybe working in some capacity. Doing those same things you do - at a different pace of course - living life the best way they know how. And a general 'bad' reputation is given New York some times as not being friendly. Myself, I have never found that to be true.

There are certainly folks that have a bad attitude and seem to have a mean streak in them. But a smile or kind word tends to have a positive effect on them. In general though, most New Yorkers are quite friendly...as I find people most everywhere I go. What I do find is that the typical New Yorker is rushing by so quickly, it takes 'quick hits of kindness' that get exchanged between people.

In a slower paced community, you may take additional time to stop, say hello and exchange a few words. In New York, it is the fast hello, the quick smile, the 'quick hit of kindness'. When you understand this, you begin to see a change in your own view of New York. It opens you to see a whole new city. You will see a whole lot more of all that happens in that "New York Minute".