The Joy Of Presence

Guest Post by Chase Steele Greye

In the past few years I have most certainly become more present than I have ever been before. The twists and turns of life have a way of showing us when to listen and when to speak or act. It seems that we are constantly getting advice from others as to what we should do and how we should do it. But the truth remains that we all can learn a thing or two from just being present.




Imagine how it feels to eat an apple or even a lemon for that matter. Close your eyes and enter this sensation right now in your mind without the actual fruits being in front of you. You can almost feel the acidic qualities of the lemon and you can probably even feel the juice from the apple dripping down the side of your face. That unmistakable aroma that is set into motion when you bite into it is more than familiar. Did you have any difficulty with this exercise? If not, then you are more than capable of above average presence. If you did have an issue with that little exercise, please read on.

Feeling The Love

Early this morning I was tinkering around with my DJ software. The urge to listen to music came over me then I remembered I was working on a mix a few weeks ago that I never finished. I ended up trimming, crossfading and panning songs until 3 in the morning.

The mix I completed last night was mainly 70's music - majority being Jorge Ben Jor, Asturd Gilberto with some Lingala beats, George McCrae and Jamiroquai thrown in. I love the sound. Music you can feel. On Thursday night, I met DJ Sami (Fuzzanova). He was rocking the event with some great 60's & 70's sounds. A song I thought was Jorge Ben was actually Emilio Santiago he told me - a new artist to add to my music library!

30 Years In New York City

I got the idea while I was journaling the night before my birthday to go visit all the old neighborhoods I used to live in. Go back to my old addresses and schools and take photos; chronicle what gentrification has done to Hamilton Heights and SoBro (Harlem and the South Bronx, as I know them)


About halfway into the trip, I had already seen a roller-blading professor whose sneakers I retrieved when he dropped them as he clunked his way past me. I saw construction taking place on 143rd and 144th between Amsterdam and Convent which I swear has been going on since the 90's. Took the Bx19 to my old neighborhood going past Lincoln Hospital (where it all began) and had flashbacks to the rides on that bus to and from school. It was amazing, despite all the time that had passed, not much had changed at all.