First impressions: Woody Allen did it right. The only way to shoot New York was in black and white. Why? Because it truly is a city of contrasts. Contrasts of people, of wealth, of poverty. Contrasts of races, classes and religions all mingling together but yet apart.

Everywhere there are stark reminders that contrasts bring about tensions. Twenty-one floors up and I can hear the voice of a troubled soul ranting against the demons in his head. Here for once, medication would bring relief rather than simply oblivion to the real turmoil.

Tension and turmoil. It’s clearly exposed in places and expertly hidden in others. Wealth doesn’t bring happiness. That’s clear as I watch an uptown girl head to 5th Avenue, eyes reminiscent of someone in the grips of demonic possession, in reality just being in the grips of a drug once thought to be a cure for eating disorders. Now it’s something that supposedly makes a good time better; until Tuesday that is. That’s when the comedown takes you back to despair and emptiness. But like the city, much of it is hidden beneath Gucci and Armani.

But it is no longer the New York of ‘Taxi Driver’ where, according to our less than nostalgic tour guide, ‘you had to wear a piece when you left home.’ Times Square is now more like a weird extension of Disneyland, accented by the occasional nudity. In today’s New York you can walk through most places in relative safety, knowing that there is more security here than in most cities.

Words from iconic songs flash through my mind as we head downtown, looking for something perhaps more real than what We’ve seen so far. However it’s more Lou Reed and Tom Waits than Billy Joel.

But the deeper we go, the deeper the city seems in debt, morally, as much as spiritually, let alone economically. Wall Street keeps dealing economic crack and smack. The ‘Old School’ keeps on keeping on, watching gleefully as the faithful rub the nose and balls of the bull for good fortune. Wasn’t there something about worshipping false idols in the Old Testament? No matter, it’s different. It’s money not drugs. It’s a little Anthony Bourdain, but unlike New York, he got clean and honest.

Speaking of clean. Most of New York has the indisputable odour of rotting vegetation. Yet the only place you can escape the assault on your nostrils is in and around Central Park. The very place that has the most green I’ve seen in this town.

Smell is not the only sense to be assailed. New York is a noisy place. New Yorkers can be loud and in your face. From the irate Taxi Driver to the the groups of women who’s pitched conversations are straight from a script from ‘Sex in the City’. Most of the time it’s not a problem, as they also can be friendly and helpful,
’You’re welcome’ a common phrase; yet often said with real feeling, rather than rolled out as well-worn cliche.

Several days on and New York is starting to make more sense. No, it isn’ more friendly, less smelly and and less noisy. It has simply become New York, a place where people gather from everywhere for different reasons. The passage of time makes it clear that New York isn’t about buildings and sights, but really it is about a kaleidoscope of humans doing what humans do. Work, play and try to make some sense out of the mundane and then elevate it to something more meaningful. Be it commerce, education or religion, it really doesn’t matter.

New York. It is what it is. And it doesn’t care whether you like it or not. You are just another piece in the contrasting texture of life in this town.

After all; it is simply your own ‘New York State of Mind’.

Oh, by the way. if you’re wondering why this is in my blog ‘Making Good Men Great’, it’s because, just like New York, masculinity is a ‘State of Mind’.

So, if you are interested to check your state of mind, talk to me.

Come and visit www.goodmengreat.com and become part of the solution.

To set up an exploratory conversation, contact rebecca@goodmengreat.com.