Six in the City

You know, New York City is a very peaceful and tranquil place. There's just a low ebb of activity, people are quiet, seemingly content, and the quiet joy of shared respect for public space is in full bloom everywhere you go.

What kind of crack am I smoking? 6 a.m. crack.

I've been getting up earlier and earlier since I sat the sesshin at Dharma Field a few weeks ago. I found a group with which I can sit on an almost daily basis, their morning sits start at 7 a.m., and to make sure I am there on time I have to get up a few minutes before 5 a.m..

My entire life I have not regarded myself as a morning person. That was just a thought I held about myself, but it seemed real at the time. It still seems real, but the fact is I am getting up with the birdies these days.

I don't know how long I am going to be able to do this. That's a "gaining idea," anyway, i.e., just confusion, delusion, longing and loathing. It doesn't matter how long I am going to do this.

Its not that I don't think this is important, or that I don't have any particular intention to continue. No, it's that considering how long I am going to do this really doesn't help me to get up tomorrow, which is what I really have to do, just like it doesn't help me with eating to imagine what my life will be like when I weigh less.

I have noticed that I really like the upper west side of Manhattan at 6 a.m.. People are quiet, friendly, and they all appear to have some purpose of which they are mindful. Maybe because it takes some effort to get up earlier than the rest of the City, I don't know.

I like Six in the City.