Present in New Orleans

The older I get, the more I appreciate simplicity. The more I remember that life is not about getting and having but about giving and being.

The last time we were in New Orleans, we tried to see and do a lot. I checked these things off from a list of recommendations and thought that the number of checks equated to an increasing understanding of the city. A hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s - check. Beignets at Cafe Du Monde - check. I wasn’t only interested in the tourist sites though. I read about New Orleans, trying to intellectualize my way through the city. Nine Lives by Dan Baum and Why New Orleans Matters by Tom Piazza and articles about the 1927 flooding and John McPhee’s essay on the Atchafalaya and Spike Lee’s 4 hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina.

This trip was different. We still did and saw a lot. I still checked recommendations off a list. But I leaned into the experience of being in the city this time. The best part of our trip was strolling through Audubon Park under the sprawling limbs of live oak trees with an armful of new books. It was sitting at an outdoor table eating croissants watching the rain and listening to the endless, rolling thunder. It was feeling the sun on my face on the shores of the Mississippi with the horns of tugboats echoing across the river.
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I gave myself over to being fully present on this trip, and that’s what I’m taking into this week.