A Larger Picture

I am listening to Radio Classique. The announcements and news between the songs are in French. I love the sound of the French language. It is music to me. I love being immersed in it. The French words I know keep popping. If I listen all day will I dream in French again like I did in grade school? It is good to be surrounded by another language preferably one you do not understand.

The world is big! I like to remind myself of this every day. Many people I know learned to speak English as a second language as adults. I don't know if English sounded like music to them but they were immersed in it and that is the best way to learn a language.

Because I work alone and from my inner life it is crucial that I take a break to get outside and touch the larger world. My downtown walk is social and full of the city's energy. The walk to the pond is about getting distance from the city and being able to see the water and the little houses tucked along the banks. I have walked my dogs to the pond for 20 years. Now it feels like an extension of home.

When I grew up in the suburbs it was as if a clear bubble was covering our brick fortress of a house. There was no sense of community. My mother's unhappiness and worries created a terrarium climate. Walking through Grand Central Station in Manhattan I saw people of every age shape and ethnicity from all over the world. I loved it because it opened my eyes. I wish everyone could have this experience.