Carolina Peaks, Remsen Street, A Basement Brewery - Places I Felt Peace

While I'm tempted to gatekeep, I've been thinking of the concept of peace a lot recently. It's something that has felt so elusive over the past two years so ephemeral and fleeting, as I navigated murky and unsteady waters. It feels more elusive, given the CPTSD flashbacks and nightmares. If I think back even further, it's something I've been trying to establish my entire life having grown up in a chaotic household. I felt like coming out of that, I had earned my peace and my joy, but found it unseruptitiously swept out from under my feet. And so this year, I've been trying to remember that while peace can be inspired from encounters with external forces, it is also something that lives within you. And so, I've been trying to find places that have reminded me to cultivate space for peace to fill.

Remsen Street

On most days, I walk down the scenic and historic-feeling Remsen Street. I pass by the brick reddish brownstones, this gorgeous apartment building with ornate archways held up by marble columns, and bask in Spring sunlight. The street leads to a little opening on top of the highway looking out at the water and the Manhattan skyline. From there, I find my way to an empty bench where I sit with the dog , breathing into peacefulness.

A Road near Asheville in the Black Mountains

While I hadn't mustered up the courage to hike the mountain trail alone that Monday afternoon (I've seen enough True Crime thrillers), I'd made way for peace that afternoon. I plopped myself alongside the dog and spent the next hour playing guitar in the lush North Carolina greens.

One World (Basement) Brewery -

I capped off the end of the North Carolina, post-wedding, solo trip with a cold beer in the a basement brewery in downtown Asheville. As I sat, a rotating cast of musicians all came to showcase their musical talent during an open mic night. For the hour I was there, I had started to forget myself, lost in the deep bluegrass and bluesy folk songs. It felt like the perfect way to say goodbye to Asheville, a place that had shown me more kindness and care than I'd expected. As an aside , Asheville has a slam poetry team and open Sunday night jam, both of which I look forward to discovering next time. But that night, I was be content to sit still, without thought, and just listen. And in that, my body remembered peace.