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THE MISSING TWIN TOWERS 09/12/01

  • 911
    On 09/12/01 I walked from 14th street and Union Square down to the hole in the ground that used to be the Twin Towers. It was an eerie and surrealistic experience. Check points with soldiers and policemen were on every block. Somehow I found a way to get to within two blocks of the center of the destruction. The light had a strange brownish glow due to a mixture of the heavy particles of the disentegrated buildings filtering the winter sunlight. Many people were wearing face masks to help them breathe. I was struck by the nearly universal dazed and shocked expressions of a multitude of awe struck onlookers like myself. However, as bad as it was, I was also struck by the noble activity of hundreds - or was it thousands - of workers and volunteers that were quietly, and methodically attending to the grim work of cleaning up this horrible lower manhatten "Pearl Harbor" mess. Returning to Union Square I came upon a hastily erected evolving memorial. On subequent days I came upon similar memorials, most notably a large one in Grand Central Station. What most stirred me were pictures of kin who were unaccounted for as yet, apparently posted by relatives and friends, desperately clinging to the hope that their loved ones had some escaped the horror and might be recognized by someone, anyone, who would take the time to carefully scan their names and faces and. if indeed spotted, would hopefully notify them. It was quite shaking to have to face up to the brutal fact that nothing is absolutely secure - life is tenuous at best. Perhaps all that can be done at such times is to try to remain steady and, if so inclined, to record such occurrences as objectively as is humanly possible.

AUTUMN IN NEW YORK

  • AUTUMN TRIUMPH
    I was feeling depressed yesterday morning. Additionally I was restless and somewhat agitated. My body wanted movement. I looked outside noticing that the fall colors were shimmering flooded with sunlight. I picked up my small canon camera and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. The walk was magical. The pictures that follow speak for themselves. After only a few pictures it was obvious that my depression completely lifted. My conclusion is that immersion in nature - any season - is likely to be the best natural anti-depressant.

THE CHRISTOS' GATES

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THE CHRISTOS' GATES in the SNOW

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NATURE'S GLORY

  • New York City Fruit Stand #3
    What I most love about nature is it is so natural. It is what it is. It is so full of beauty. It gives so much and asks for nothing in return. Most of the flowers and yard photogaphs are a theme and variation from flowers and tomatos I plant each spring. I enjoy watching the buds ripening and opening up. I particularly enjoy the uniqueness of each flower as it unfolds sometime mid summer. As I zoom in for closeups I sense these colorful mysteries speak to some elemental and most essential best prrt of me. As I focus upon the details of each unique flower, or fruit, or tree, or mixture of shadow and light, or glitter, or sparkles, I feel as connected to being alive and resonant with my natural 'friends' as at any time or with any people in my life. I appreciate the democratic spirit clusters of flowers have for themselves collectively and individually. They seem to celebrate being alive as they unself consciously display their radiance for whomever wishes to take note - or not. They seem utterly indifferent whether anyone cares or not. They don't fuss or get irritated as they 'graciously' make room for each other. I can appreciate what Van Gogh felt in the open sunlight painting his sun flowers and hay stalks - giddily - passionately grasping for the right words as he expressed his feelingsin his letters to Theo {his brother}. Observing nature with direct perception, not having to find words to describe what is experienced, is a tonic for me - a being who derives his lively hood from systematically searching for just right words.

TIMES SQUARE, ETC.

  • Washington Square Arch Newly Litup
    Times square by day or night pulsates with excitement, noise, and electricity. If you are bored, or under stimulated go to Broadway and 42nd street to be atmospherically reinvigorated. No need to spend a fortune going to usually dissappointing theatre - just stand on a corner in Times Square and watch the passing show - fixed or in motion. A well crafted building is a joy to behold. Equally so are machines like the Metro North Railway trains, stations, tracks, wires virtually all of the trappings that go into making a transportation system. So too - unusual scenes such as colorful canoes glittering amongst tall green pine trees on a bright sun filled summer day delights my senses and stirs my soul. There is so much not to like but it is all worth it when my senses are stimulated. It is very true: you can't appreciate the light unless you can take note of the darkness.

RECORD SNOW STORM

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« LYNCHINGS and the CHRISTOS' "GATES" | Main | POST SCRIPT: EXPERIENCING the CHRISTO'S "GATES" »

February 26, 2005

SIMPLE PLEASURES and The CHRISTO'S "GATES"

                               POST # 7

         LET IT SNOW - LET IT SNOW - LET IT SNOW

Lucky me, it snowed. Instantly I thought how beautiful the gates would be with the translucent saffron against the pure white snow. Of course this depended on conditions being just right: the sun coming out, there being enough snow on the ground, and my being sufficiently motivated to make the effort to going to the park again.

I got an E mail from a good friend who asked if I had taken pictures of the gates in the snow? I thought I would go Saturday. However, as I had three hours before my next patient I figured why not go now. I associated back to basic training when my physical self had to be ready to galvanize into action instantaneously. Initially I would groan, but once active I would feel a pleasurable aliveness.

It was somewhat difficult to push against the tendency to remain inert rather than to push into action. But I know from past experience the old saying of strike while the iron is hot makes a great deal of sense. I also knew my mood was just right - like the first time I went to the gates.

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As soon as I entered the park at 86th street I was enveloped in a Zen like state of consciousness. I could identify with Yeat's' poetic line about the dancer and the dance being one, and Freud's identifying the horse and the rider working in concert.

I am talking about a state of consciousness characterized as integrated, synergistic, wherein I experience myself as a synthesis of all the various channels of communication: senses, intuition, feelings, ideas and an overall unified sense that might best be described as being derived from my soul.

I clicked off photos as if I was being directed from a transcendent/yet deep source that I experienced as simultaneously me and not me. {Preconscious}

To think that this colorful addition to reality will be just a memory in two days is sad but I have captured its actuality in my photos. Perhaps more importantly the presence of this simple pleasure is etched on my being. This two time experience of the Christo's Gates has truly been a meaningful connection for me and considering that I have logged over 5200 hits on the gates photo album in one week I imagine many many others share my experience.

In this connection I invite you to view my two photo albums of the Christo's Gates:http://gibbsonline.typepad.com/photos/the_christos_gates/index.html and the gates in the snow: http://gibbsonline.typepad.com/photos/the_christos_gates/index.html

February 26, 2005 in MY EXPERIENCE of the CHRISTO'S GATES |

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