The city is a parasite and it wants your soul.
I walk the streets of Boston and I watch those around me. I play a game with myself and I search for people who look happy. How many people can I find that walk with a lively step, a smile, and a spark in their eyes? Not many, in fact there are so few it’s shocking. This is not the way things should be, and coming from a small town I can say with some certainty that this is not normal. It amazes me how cities can have such huge populations but they are some of the most anti-social environments I have ever experienced.
Fear for their safety has put most city dwellers constantly on guard. The truth is there really are not that many people one needs to be on guard against and they inhabit small towns and cities alike. Being on guard and defensive against the world will only serve to reduce one’s quality of life. Being aware is the most effective way to insure one’s safety while living in city, town or wilderness alike without diminishing one’s experiences. Paying attention is key.
The average city dweller walks with a great mental wall erected in front of them. They don’t make eye contact and they are seldom caught smiling. They walk the streets caught up in mental constructs and they barely see those around them. They are blind.
At night and alone the city dwellers walk hastily, with short rapid steps, you can almost smell the fear coming off them. Kick a trash can and see them startle and jump. They are prey.
I walk the city with eyes open and I see just how few of us there are that are paying attention at any given moment. It saddens me because it is fear that blinds the rest. I know this from experience because in small towns like where I’m from people make eye contact with strangers, they walk with confidence and a smile. It is those very same people that city dwellers tend to look down on. But so many more of them are happy. Where I’m from, it’s the unhappy people that are the oddities, in the city, happy people are the rare freaks.
Boston's Magick 