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Health and Wellness

Dear Chicago

You are mesmerizing.

29
Dear Chicago
Hide Obara

You have taken my breath away and replaced it with the crisp air of your city, whose molecules vibrate with passion and so much love.

Each morning, the sound of your people eager to start their day jolt me awake. The sun shining through my bedroom window warms my cheeks in the early hours, begging my eyes to open as another day begins. There is so much life here as if a massive pool of energy is constantly being replenished and is softly extending its reach to all life forms.

Kindness is something of nature here, every person adorning a smile and a welcoming voice. There is very little worry, nervousness, or stress, and the day's events are simply left to come and go as they happen. It is clear that "anxious" is not part of the vocabulary, replaced by feelings of peace and calm. Life is simple, met by daily work routines and bottomless cups of coffee.

The office is a meditative space, a steady rhythm of synchronous energy ruminating from each desk. Despite the work being highly individual, there is camaraderie and an incredible amount of thoughtfulness given along with every action. How else can I help? Becomes more than a commonly used phrase, but a mantra necessary for the maintenance of balance and companionship.

When work has let out for the day, I am free to escape into your concrete oasis. Tall buildings looming overhead beg to be explored, the waves of the beach have a beckoning call with each and every crash to the shore, and the wind rustles through the trees in the park where children run and play freely.

The train waits at the station in the hours of the evening. When it's doors open to welcome the lively crowd, a hush settles the air and it's passengers fall silent. Home is not far, but a reminder of the scope of the world is given when apartment buildings and the names of department stores flash briefly inside of the window frames.

Arriving home through the familiar creek of the door is the first sign that the day is winding down. This little home that has been given to me has become a place of my heart. Here is where I have learned, grown, and have found a greater sense of happiness than I knew was possible.

You are my heart.

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