A Walk To Relieve The Stress
After a long day of work, my body craved adventure to release the stress of the day. The blessing of living in Midtown Manhattan is that there is never a shortage of things to do or see while casually walking around. Which is exactly why I find myself often wandering the streets to clear my mind. Today, my body really wanted to go somewhere, but as I was getting ready to go out I was still unsure of where.
As I ventured out onto the foggy streets towards 5th avenue, it struck me that I wanted to find solace within a church. Growing up as a conservative Christian, I often found most of my time on the church pews and it weirdly still comforts me in the midst of great uncertainty around religion, politics and capitalism. So, with that spark, I began to make my way to Saint Patricks Cathedral to spend a little time in wonder and sit in the tension. While entering the grand halls of the Cathedral, I put in my AirPods, turned on sound proof mode, and walked straight to a seat to listen to music. Of course, the only song that I wanted to listen to at the moment was Yebba’s rendition of “Age of Worry” at Electric Lady.
When I first listened to her take on “Age of Worry”, I must admit I shed quite a few tears of frustration, sadness and acceptance. There is one particular lyric that strikes me over and over again “No, your fight is not with them - Yours is with your time here.” That lyric helps me reformat my angst towards society’s continual exploitation of Black Physical and Intellectual Property. I could be incredibly angry with the people who uphold these systems of injustice, but I am learning over time that it’s so much bigger than that. My concern is with a greater narrative of human possibility and our struggle with accepting the paradox that lives within all of us, the good and bad. Who we choose to be on a daily basis creates our reality….which is a much bigger conversation. I am currently reading “The Dawn of Everything” by David Graeber and David Wengrow and it has me thinking a lot lately.
“Who we believe ourselves to be creates our immediate realities and shapes our collective institutions.”
However, after listening to Yebba’s masterpiece and thinking about the arc of Justice, I took a stroll through the hall and looked at the ornate marble structures that adorn every inch of the space. As I was staring deep into the eyes of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, I started to think a bit more about Faith in the context of power. Look at how Faith has moved people to create and fund lavish pieces of art and architecture. Faith is power. Who we believe ourselves to be creates our immediate realities and shapes our collective institutions. It all starts with what we put our faith in. It’s why religion continues to dominate our perception of self and how we go about creating community. Also, in a non-religious context, faith is what drives consumerism. We believe that certain products and content will shape our identities while in fact it’s the other way around. Who we believe ourselves to be impacts the identity of our products and our content.
With all that said, I ended up finally making it out of the church and back towards home. On the walk home, I decided that I should at least write down my thoughts and publish them. In light of The Great Resignation and increasing global friction, people are searching for meaning and I might as well start sharing how I am beginning to reflect on my own.
Thanks for processing with me.
MATT ADAMS