A Picture is Worth a Thousand Smells

I made it to New York City Last night after getting off a one way bus from 30^th street station in Philadelphia. That ticket only cost me $12. I’m in the midst of releasing a different post about travelling on a budget, and this trip was yet another example of how easy and inexpensive travelling can be.

This brief post, however, is not so much about travelling on a budget, but more so on what to be weary of while travelling this great earth. After the Megabus dropped me off on 27^th and 7^th avenue, in the middle of New York City, I began my journey through Times Square and up to the Upper Eastside (just to the right of Central Park). There, one of my good friends would be able to put me up for the night.

The congestion on the streets was to be expected, but what I never expected was the post-apocalyptic New Year’s Eve remnants in the thousands of confetti papers floating around like flakes of snow. That was the first surprise, the second was seeing three costumed humans milling around the middle of Times Square. They were: Olaf, from Frozen, Iron Man and a Despicable Me minion.

Olaf was running up to every person he saw with his arms extended, and when he crossed my path I couldn’t resist a hug. After we embraced, Iron Man ran up to us and said, “You need a picture!” I gave him my phone, and I sized him up before I did, believing I could have easily chased him down had he tried anything funny, even with the thirty pound travel backpack I was toting.

Iron man must’ve noticed my long hair, because somehow he immediately changed the conversation to how he enjoyed puffing a little reefer. I laughed it off, knowing well that this is how many people initially try to relate with me, not knowing the only thing I’m ever high on is fresh mountain air.

Once Iron man took a few pictures, I suddenly noticed upon further examination the worn, dirt caked costume of Olaf who was standing next to me. I glanced through the snow man’s head piece and saw a dark skinned Asian man who smelled faintly of beef and cigarettes.

Olaf proceeded to take off his gloves and revealed a rolled up clump of five and one dollar bills. Iron man then flipped open his mask, and with his piercing eyes and horizontal scar above his eyebrow, asked, “You got any money?” Again, I had to laugh this off and immediately pointed to my oversized backpack and explained that I was technically homeless for the time being. They couldn’t argue with that, so we all kind of just shrugged our shoulders and Olaf and the minion went on approaching strangers with deceptive hugs.

The moral of the story is pretty simple, but also a little complex. Sure, looks can be deceiving, but even deeper is this idea that people often possess ulterior motives, especially when power, money and feelings are involved. Some people are scary good at pretending they’re genuine, and only when you get to know a person might you discover their true identity. The only thing I can suggest is to always be searching for truth, not only yours, but that of others. As depressing as it sounds, if something doesn’t feel right, it may not be right, ever.

The only thing we really, truly have to offer each other is our love and our time. We should invest immensely in both these things, because this is what our happiness hinges on. When we do the things we love with the ones we love this is when we reach our peak flow, the point where things feel seamless and synchronized.

The last piece of brief advice I’d like to say, which also happens to be my new years resolution, is to make it a point to minimize all expectations and assumptions. Creating expectations is one of the most detrimental things we can do, simply because we are taking away from the present moment and an otherwise authentic experience, which often times leads to a let down. Sometimes we can’t predict things no matter how we slice it, and that’s half the fun. I may have been initially greeted with hugs and enthusiasm in the big apple, but in the end it turned out to be strange men who smelled like pork rinds trying to shake people down faster than four day old confetti falling from the sky.

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