Vespers, Movies, & Settling

Wow how time flies.

Here I am, mid-September, getting ready for the culmination of the Great Places in America project I've been working on, and faced with the coming dilemma of deciding what to do with the rest of my life. I've put it off successfully for another couple of months into early November, but eventually I will have to face the fact that I will need a new position to keep this DC gig up.

(More on that later.)

I do really like Washington DC. It's a really great city with a great culture. I have been happier here than any other place I can think of recently. Outside of my college experience (where I was surrounded by a structured schedule and flow of life) being in this city reminds me of the time I studied abroad in Barcelona. As much as I don't want to admit it, I think large, dense urban areas are the places I want to be right now.

Waterfront Park by the Navy Yard.

I don't like relegating myself to such constraints. It makes me sound elitist, pretentious, and like I'm too good for anything smaller or more intimate. And I'm not! I love visiting and seeing small cities. I really enjoy traveling, and experiencing as many places as I can. I just don't find myself happy in mid-sized to small cities. I don't know if it is one base reason, or a combination of reasons. I don't want to blame it on the car-centric model of development, but I really think that is what it is. Or maybe it's the petty politics and small-town doggedness that persists where a diverse population should propel people forward in terms of addressing larger issues. Maybe it's the lack of things to do, or places to see.

My personal favorite version of Metro architecture. The arches style.

I'm not quite sure, but all I know is that I'm happier here in DC than I have been in a while, and that feels nice. My curiosity drives me to know exactly why I am happy, but I should just sit back and enjoy it for a bit. Maybe it is just the honeymoon phase, and I'll grow dissatisfied with this city. I don't know really.


As I ponder of why I like it here so much, there have been many many things and events I've gone to that have helped me transition to this place much easier than I ever did in Vancouver. I've gotten involved with the Young Adults group at the local Unitarian Church. Just tonight I went to see Interstellar at the Natural History Museum IMAX with friends from the church. It was pretty amazing. While the act of watching the movie was mostly a solo act, the camaraderie of having people there you know is so much better than going by yourself.

A panorama of the Udvar Hazy Annex of the Air & Space Museum out in Northern Virginia

Speaking of "church", I'd like to let people know that I'm talking about Unitarian Universalists (UU) here. I'm not going to start getting all godly on folks. I haven't written too much about my personal beliefs here, and that's mainly because I don't quite know what I believe myself, and I'm personally terrified of eternity and death. So we're not going down that rabbit hole today. Just to wrap up: being a UU is all about being in a congregation together and exploring your beliefs rather than adhering to a strict dogma. You can read more on it here.

Finally, I'll wrap up this post with my first experience of a vespers service. (Sticking with the religion theme above.) I have only heard of vespers before, and never attended one, and I am so glad I went to this service. An intro: Vespers is basically an evening service that is lead by chanting, singing, and silence. It's a much more spiritual and inward looking service rather than the outgoing and exciting Sunday services. Basically I loved it.

I think vespers services are the more spiritual and ritualistic side of the UU tradition that I have been seeking. I don't think my church in Vancouver did evening services, but if they did I was missing out. As I was chanting along and singing along during the vocal parts, I felt as though I became a part of something greater than myself, and that everyone around me was participating in something that brought us together to acknowledge something greater.

When we came to the first bout of silence, it pounded on my eardrums. No outside noise, no huge crowds, only peace in the warmly lit sanctuary. The leader preached that with every chant to let it sink in and affect you more and more. I'm not sure what it was about the togetherness, but for some reason the practice set off some sort of brain chemistry and really made me feel something that I haven't felt before.

Panorama of National Airport

The one that sticks in my head the most is this chant:

Bountiful am I
Blissful am I
Beautiful am I

And I just have to think that I'm feeling that in my life right now, and it really puts me at ease.