It’s just another winter week here in New York and yet everything is somehow different and I’m wondering how I can best distance myself from the negativity that suddenly resonates everywhere.
After a week in office, the first effects of the new President of the United States and his entourage became apparent. Chaos, instability, stupidity, treachery and, above all, boundless negativity suddenly seem to be omnipresent whenever you read the news. I don’t want to get political, but I would like to reiterate what should be clear anyway if you know my attitude to life: this way of looking at things is definitely not mine! And life, the reality I live here in New York, is anything but MAGA-compliant. Instead, I’m surrounded by happy people of all kinds, by love, joie de vivre, positivity and lots of inspiration. I realized this on Monday when we hosted a small party in our small apartment. Most of the people invited were neighbors and a few close friends; there were around 20 of us. The group was a cross-section of society as it is omnipresent in my life in 2025. Diverse nationalities and races, all sexual orientations, from young to old all ages represented and in the end just a group of people drinking and eating together, talking, laughing, exchanging ideas and having a great evening, which brought us all a little closer. In comparison, certain statements by the new government can hardly be surpassed in absurdity.
Confusing times
Broken dreams
And yet there seem to be a large number of people who have no problem with this. People who want to destroy everything that has been built up over years of work and struggle. Who can’t bow low enough in front of the new leader who is actually a convicted criminal. It can be quite frustrating to watch. In addition to all the astonishment and horror, I ask myself how I can protect myself from this, how I can compartmentalize my own feelings? How I can maintain positivity and inspiration? Basically, nothing has changed for me. Unlike some people I know who suddenly have to live in the land of the free every day in fear of being arrested and deported despite having a job and a regular livelihood, I have a secure residence status. I can dream of a bigger apartment, while it has suddenly become impossible for them to sign a tenancy agreement. I have to admit, I haven’t found a conclusive answer yet and I’m fighting against a certain level of frustration that is building up inside me.
Midtown impressions
A glimpse of creativity
But this frustration is only a small part of me and is still only marginally present. Apart from the great house party on Monday, this week was also dominated by the usual work on my website and property management in Basel.
My creative moments were again limited to the photographs I took on various outings in the city or while jogging. There really is always and everywhere something to discover or something that catches my eye. And it doesn’t even have to be something big. A detail of the architecture on the new Penn Station building, the way the stepped architecture of The Spiral correlates with the older buildings when you look up from 7th Avenue or the way the sunlight falls on certain streets.
A bit of color
A liberating run
And then there were the quiet moments during a run in Riverside Park on a relatively warm rainy day, when everything fades into gray. Although I like the reduction of the color palette, the fog that covered everything seemed to me like a symbol of current political events worldwide.
Riverside tristesse
