Pier Fest

For those who frequently read my posts, you know that I am a big fan of jazz music. So much so that I have a couple of jazz playlists that I often listen to when I want to contemplate life, meditate, write, or help me decompress from a long day.

Before this pandemic came about and disrupted our ability to travel around like we are accustomed to, I would attend a live jazz event at least four to five times during the year. So when I got wind that there will be live jazz music on the pier at Exchange Place every Friday in August, I got very excited and made plans to attend.

So once I completed the workday on Friday and transitioned into weekend mode, I put on some comfortable clothes and headed over to the Hudson to meet up with some friends.

In the spirit of our LinkedIn friendship and connection, I figured that I would also bring you along. Lol!

I arrived at the pier a little after 7 pm and found most of my crew already there chilling out in a nice spot in the shade. Love it! After making my way over, I immediately gave everyone an emphatic high-five and began enjoying their company as well as the smooth jazz music.

Thirty minutes into watching the band play while talking, laughing, and simply having fun with friends, I recall pausing for a minute to savor this moment intentionally.

With that in mind, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for three seconds, exhaled, then I opened my eyes and began looking around slowly. I excused myself from the group for a minute and slid off to the side so that I could capture a few bullet points on my phone of what I was seeing and feeling at this moment.

The reason for doing this was that I knew that I would want to revisit these thoughts later. Moreover, having bullet points to reference would allow me to pick up right where I left off and finish crystallizing my thinking at that moment in time in an efficient manner.

Fast forward to this Sunday morning, now walking on the treadmill, and just like I figured it would, the experience at the pier fest pop in my mind. As a result, I opened my journal app, quickly located the bullet points previously mentioned, and like magic, the words for a new journal entry started flowing just like the water in the river!

I spent the next seven minutes typing away and decided to share a portion of what I wrote with you as my newest LinkedIn post.

Closing thought: As things surrounding this pandemic still leaves us with some uncertainty in the air as we approach the fall season, at least from my viewpoint, I encourage you to make the most of your time at live events. In other words, embrace the present moment—food for thought on this cloudy day in the #NYC Metropolitan area.

Well, friends, the treadmill just stopped, so my workout is over, and now it is time for me to head to the grocery store. I wish you a relaxing Sunday and a productive week ahead. Let's go! 😊

#mindfulness #motivation #events

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