Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Faith in Kindness

   Central Park is like the lung of New York City. More than providing just greenery,  posh and sophisticated architectures and a true renewal spot amidst the concrete towers in Manhattan, it is cultivating millions of dynamic lives. Musicians, actors, businessmen, tourists... all gather in this space to renew and recharge. There are always a certain type of people who fascinate me here- people who work out,people who run down the trails surrounded by trees and lakes,people who bike along the road listening to the chirping of birds and the hustle of pedestrians under the glistening sunlight peeking its way through the canopy of leaves.

    To be honest, one of my checklist is to workout in Central Park. It sounds like a luxury to me, imagine just bringing keys and nothing else in your workout clothes and just running through this beautiful park and you can just head back to your apartment nearby. Well, that would not happen to me right now but at least i can figure out a part of that.

   So one day in the morning, i tied my hair up and dressed myself in my beloved broadway
camp  T-shirt in ruby and a running shorts. There i went, into the city, just for working out in central park. I grabbed myself a strawberry waffle along my way from the station to the park. My plan was simple, to run around and then hire a bike from those biking racks. (those citibikes provided by the city)

   Just when i was walking towards the entrance of the park, a young man, with a leaflet in his hand approached by my side and asked if i'd like to hire a bicycle. I glanced at the prices for a second and thought it was too expensive for an hour so i shook my head and smiled as i continued to walk along the street. And for my first plan was to run so i didn't look further. He asked where i was going, as friendly as he was, i told him i was going for a run. He then replied, why not hire a bike! Then i said, maybe later. I want to run first. As i continued to walk and with him following by my side, we encountered the traffic lights and there we stopped, waiting for the walk sign,





   As i thought he would forget about selling his business to me, he asked who i was running with, i told him it was just me. To my surprise he asked if he could run with me. Instantly, i laughed at that idea as he was still holding his price list of the renting of the bike. So i told him, "but you have to do your business." Then he said, "i could run with you and still do my business!" I obviously didn't know what else to say, it was funny and silly at the same time. And at last i said no and waved him goodbye as i crossed the road. Just when i thought it was all finished, he offered me to lend me their bicycles for free. It was very tempting but i couldn't accept it for i really wanted to run first. I smiled again and refused and at last, i went for a run.

  Let's face it, my idea of him doing all the talking was just wanting me to rent his bicycle and all he ever wanted was my money. Even when offered the bicycle for me for free, i was afraid i had to pay other sort of fees when it's all done. But when i think about it, what if he really wanted to just run with me, what if he really wanted to lend me the bike for free. that brought me back to the issue of trust. It's very hard to trust a stranger, even someone you know very well. My issue of trust was shaken when a close classmate of mine back in high school did something "betrayal" to me and most of the time, the crush i had promised me something but never kept that promise. It got the point where it was very hard to trust someone completely just by what they say. But with this, i wondered if my trust issue got to a very secured point where i could possibly turned down someone with good intention and kindness. I'd never know, but at least this young man made me reconsider my level of trust and try to open my mind to trusting people again, or at least give them a little chance to see what they could offer.





And on a final note, i did hire a bike from those bicycles racks after my glorious run across the beautiful sheep meadow, biked around central park, to Queensboro bridge and back to 34th street.