Highs and Lows

I was on a rocky hilltop in Central Park when I heard a kid say, "look how high we are! But look how low we are!" I turned. There were two kids hopping around the rocks. One of them repeated, pointing downhill towards the park interior, "look how high we are." He then turned and pointed towards 5th avenue and the towering buildings, "and look how low we are!"

That kid got me thinking.

I thought about the exhilaration of being on a mountaintop. The power that comes from elevation. I thought of kings in their thrones looking down upon their subjects and breathing with confidence of prestige. I thought of the countless young professionals who flock to New York City and begin their march upwards on corporate ladders, who one day must look down at the rivals they surpassed, the promotions they received, the apartments they upgraded away from, and the power they accumulated.

I then thought about the same young professionals who must constantly look upwards at their next expected promotion, the larger apartments, the raise in salary, and the power which they don't yet have. I thought of emperors who conquer continents but aren't satisfied knowing that there exists more land overseas beyond their control.

I wondered how much of what these kids were saying was mere innocence, and how much had been absorbed from the city around them. We were in a place where contempt doesn't exist - where the dream is not of acquisition, but of chasing. In New York City, nothing is good enough. There is always something worth working toward, something nicer around the corner. We can celebrate the journeys we've made only to drown in the harshness of staying still. The heights we've reached will always be dwarfed by our potential.

Or maybe the kids were talking about rocks and buildings. Either way, they continued playing and I searched the clouds for familiar shapes.