I love big cities. An energy that never ceases as the taxi’s
whiz by, horns honking at pedestrians crossing with the orange hand flashing.
The crowds of people, each headed in their own direction and yet they move as
one up and down the streets. Whistles blow and the screeching of metal on metal
can be heard in the distance as a subway beneath rushes off, or the trains on
the tracks circling the city pause just long enough for you to jump on.
Decisions must be quick and fluid, lest you pause and cause a ripple in the
rhythm of a city.
My last months spent in Australia were spent living the life
of a city girl. Busing from the outskirts of Brisbane to the very heart of the
city. The heart throbbed energetically
as people bustled from shop to shop. Pounding were the feet against the pavement
as each person walked down Queen Street in search of the best sale. Wednesday’s
we never wore pink, but the Farmer’s Market would come with exotic fruits,
filling your soul with the smell of sautéed mushrooms, popcorn, and warm
breads. Like every big city, Brisbane too had an energy unique and beautiful.
Most days I appreciated being able to walk to the city’s music adjusting my
stride to match the beat of the day, but from time to time a gust of unfiltered
cigarette smoke would hit me in the face and my heart would stop and dream of
blue skies where trees hemmed the horizon instead of skyscrapers.
Today I went for a run amongst the skyscrapers of nature,
breathing in the crisp cool air that has settled just in time for the winter
holidays. The mountains that surrounded me reached towards heaven and I took time
to appreciate the creations of my Father in Heaven.
On my couch, before I write in my journal, I sit and look
out the window at the trees and the fields where horses graze amidst their
friends, the cows. My thoughts run to a million places pondering the mysteries of life; love, family, God, etc. My heart is filled with content as I feel the
blessings that surround me in life. Problems, which once clogged the funnel in
my brain, become resolved as I sit and ponder.
The city is great. I will always enjoy the freedom that is
felt in a city, a place I’m free to chase dreams that reach higher than the
Empire State Building. The heart, however, cannot always remain in the city.
For if it is always walking, never pausing, then there is no time to ponder and untie the jumbled mess that
is created in my brain here and there.
As Socrates said, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
