How to Find Peace While LIVING IN A CITY
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I adore living in a big city. New York has my heart, soul, and mind. Unfortunately, I consider my romance with this whirlwind of a city, quite toxic. It depletes my bank account, overstimulates me, and demands haste from my legs 24-7. Whenever I manage to get out of the city, I exhale so intensely you’d think I was releasing my ghost through my lungs. And yet, I defend my love for NYC to my dying day.
All of this is to say: girl I get it. Things are bound to get too much living in a big city, no matter how much you love living in it. The hustle and bustle can excite and drain at the same time, and there needs to be a balance between your wake and your rest. But how do you find that when leaving is a luxury? Running off for a vacation is hardly a small feat, and going to the suburbs isn’t all that easy either. While it’s always best to physically take yourself out of the space that is causing you anxiety, if that’s not an option for you, here are some ways to find peace while living in the middle of chaos.
1. Find the Closest Park
It’s no secret that nature holds earth’s best healing powers. Most cities have at least one or two green spaces to escape to. Even if you have to share said park with sunbathers, hungry rats, and a raccoon or two, look up at the swaying trees and inhale the fresh air. I recommend having a calming playlist ready to accompany your stroll. Here is my “cry” playlist, should you need some inspiration. Allow your feet to wander aimlessly for two hours, and occasionally sit on a rock to simply breathe.
2. Pick Up Meditation
Here’s the thing about meditation: it actually works. It works instantly the first time you try it, and only gets better and better with each session. Meditation truly saved me when I was in my darkest era. It completely clears and calms the mind. You can float through your troubles and bring your heart rate back to a stable condition.
3. Don’t Talk to Anyone
I know this may seem like odd advice. Most people might recommend to confide in your closest friend, family, or therapist. And while I’m not advising against that, you should simultaneously find a separate time to completely be on your own. If you’re feeling burnout from a city, chances are it’s because you’re spending too much of your own time on other people. Brunches, parties, work, yoga classes… social gatherings never end in urban jungles. So find some time to disconnect from all of it. Make yourself feel alone (not to be mistaken with lonely). Hear your heart beat again. Listen to your own thoughts. What is your body telling you it needs?
4. Listen to Your Body (Literally)
There was a time when I was a messy puddle on the floor. I was burnt out so bad that nothing functioned the way it should. Thinking that “burnout” was mostly a thing of the mind, I tried all different kinds of things to calm it. Eventually I went to see a doctor who measured my heart rate intensely and told me child: Listen to your heart. It’s beating like a 6 year old kid’s. Speeding then slowing then speeding and slowing and skipping and jumping and slowing. It’s working overtime for you, just listen to it and hear it out. Bringing my thoughts back to my fragile heart, and thinking about the way it has always been there, beating one beat at a time to keep me alive changed everything. When life seems out of control, I think about this organ doing its basic job of keeping me alive, and I feel calmer in an instant.
