It was cold and snowy in New York City when I decided to take a city guide bus tour to the Statue of Liberty, along with other tourists. We were lucky with our tour guide, he was a fun person and shared a lot of interesting stories of life in Manhattan. I was specially impressed with the story of the Empire State building– no book and no internet can replace the words and emotions of an old American man sharing a little bit of history about his city, in a very personal manner from deep within his heart.
In the beginning, my plan was to go to Ellis island, but after hearing the story, I quickly changed my mind and decided to leave the bus and walk towards the building– I wanted to feel its history and experience all it’s power for myself.
I was inspired by the story quite strongly and the message of its legacy pumps into my head every moment of weakness, when fate takes over and you feel you are constantly being squeezed tightly by uncertainty, when you are strongly longing for a way going up, a change for the better, and good luck.
I listened to the song of Empire State Of Mind before going to New York, and it is such a beautiful and powerful name—one which I associate with the great spirit of past Americans leaders, with their unequivocal support for freedom, their thirst for achieving big and powerful things, flying high, living to the fullest, having high values, and standing tough during hard times.
One of those leaders is Raskob, whose ambition, passion and high spirits lead him to inspire architects and construction workers to build the tallest building in the world at that time. It had to pass over a lot of obstacles: the great depression, the times when the building was half empty, and companies under danger of bankruptcy.
What do you do when you believe that you are the best, you are the king, you are an eagle, but fortune is not on your side?
I have only one answer and it is what I learned from the story of the Empire State Building— life was never, it is not, and never will be stable— life is all about change, like the dharma wheel, and change can be for good or bad, towards happiness or sadness, pain or love, fortune or bad luck. It is truly an art form, to be able to accept and adjust all the changes that come our way, to stand still, stick with your values and trust in life.
For the Empire State Building, the wheel eventually turned up when the movie King Kong saved the building and made it famous— many people started coming in for the sights, and over the years, still proves to be one of the best representations of man’s spirit both in its physical grandeur and its enigmatic stand during hard times.
And whatever situation I am in, I keep in mind the story of the Empire State building, and the city it represents— “I’m gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams, New York, New York.“
