Come sit with me on the front step

Not many offices feature a front step, but mine does. In all the world, it is one of my favorite places just to sit. I have a lot of memories here.

Today, I am sitting here with a large mug of tea, writing and waiting for my students to come back from their field trip. In a little while, they will start to arrive, full of ideas or full of conversation, but this is the time before. It is not quiet. The birds are especially loud, and the traffic is racing around the park. It feels like rain.

And I am sitting by myself, and I am sitting with all the people who have shared this front step with me for the past eight years. So many faces, so many voices, unwinding and sharing in this space between. It is a space that reminds us that the people moving by in a rush are part of our stillness, that nothing is owned or lost, that the city is full of energy and possibility.

If you are reading this, and you have shared this step with me, sit down for a moment and remember the park and the people and the traffic and the feeling of being at home and apart. And even if you have never sat on this front step, wondering and sharing and opening to the city, stop and notice. Now you have been here too, and your eyes and ears have opened wide and your voice has stopped and your heart has flowed with the stream of city life.

Thanks for sharing the step with me.

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