The Write Thing

While in New York City, I walked for nine hours one day down Washington Square, the Village and along the Hudson river coast, as a group of people had a picnic on the grass, others rode their bikes on the verge of sunset, and the rest simply strolled along in a beautiful spring day. As I was thinking about the complexity of human relationships, I came across this sign. The explanation of the way the Hudson river fails to flow into the Atlantic made me think of the nuances of an island. Most of us would not think of associating people who are born on an island with these characteristics, but I like to do that. I like to think that a human being is more than a single entity planted in a given country. I like to think that our environment shapes us, conditions us, enriches us and defines us, to some extent. Whatever we can change from the given set of parameters we start at is our own responsibility, with its own advantages and its own risks. As she thought that a relationship between us could be shaped, upon coming across this sign, my reflection is that we will always be moving back and forth like the currents that define her river, perhaps failing to flow into the sea.