Step 110: The Elusive Center

Finding our center, particularly in a city as busy as New York, is tough. This is the 3rd time in my life that I’ve lived in New York, and only now have I been able to find some semblance of peace here. I had this conversation twice today, with my friends, Ellie and Sara. Sometimes I feel like a puppy who’s chasing a light across the floor. I scramble over here and over there and everywhere, looking for the elusive “thing” that I should be doing or seeing or finding. The chase. I always feel like I’m on the look-out for something bigger and better.

In the past few months, I’ve been working on finding my center, appreciating where I am and reveling in it, rather than focusing on running toward something else. There are a few things I’ve been trying and I think they’re working to help calm me down:

1.) Yoga. Lots and lots of yoga. Getting my teacher certification is something I’ve been coveting for a number of years. Rather than making excuses of why I couldn’t do it, I just made time, happened upon the perfect program for me, and went for it. The meditation practice that has come along with my yoga training has also been an invaluable gift.

2.) I now give myself permission to just go home after work when I just need to go home. I don’t cave in to what I “should” do to live a “New York life”. I decided that my New York life includes whatever I want it to include, not any artificial expectations.

3.) I have a job that I really enjoy that provides me with a comfortable living in this city while I work on my own business ideas. I certainly realize that I hit the jackpot with this assignment, and every day I wake up and am thankful for it. It took some and effort to find the right combination of circumstances that would work for me, but finally I found my way. It just took commitment and perseverance on my part.

4.) I decided I could go out in crazy, but I didn’t need to live in crazy. I love being able to be in the middle of it all, and then I Iike to be able to get out of the middle of it when I want to go to sleep. As a result I live in a less cool neighborhood for the sake of some peace and quiet. And living near some large parks is an easy way to “get away” for a bit while I’m right in the midst of the city.

5.) My writing. This blog, my guest posts, and my on-line connections with other writers, keep me sane. Writing keeps me actively engaged while also providing me with perspective. And every crazy thing that happens to me in this city is just another source of good material.

6.) After my yoga teacher training, I’m getting a dog. For most of my life, we’ve had dogs in my family and these past few months since we lost Sebastian, our family pup, have been tough ones. After months of contemplating getting my own dog, I’ve finally decided that the routine necessary to raise a happy, healthy pup, is something I can and want to commit to.

I’d love to hear how you’re finding a ways to keep the peace amidst your busy lives, wherever you call home!