Speaker: You’ve heard of New York City. Everyone’s heard of New York City. Sometimes its song is beautiful, and I can’t play it loud enough.
Sometimes it’s one I’ve played on repeat too many times in a row. Often the most beautiful things aren’t the things I’ve heard about. They aren’t the long lists of restaurants, books and art exhibits that I keep on a tidy page of notes titled “recommendations” on my cell phone.
They’re the things I stumble upon without any expectations. Maybe they aren’t a song at all, just a hum. I didn’t come to Hudson Valley with just a tidy page of notes and now I never do.
This place doesn’t fit in a bulleted list. It seems like everyone here has abandoned their page of notes and like that’s where true creativity comes alive. It’s where nature is the undisputed master, the master that set up studio in a small river valley – a studio for the artists who know that you can’t book a reservation for a sun-drenched table in the corner that feels like Paris.
You can’t shop online for that one lumpy sugar cube that waits to teeter from teaspoon to teacup. That’s why I come here and join the other artists, where the gentle ring of a bell on a shop door is just a little reminder to return from inspiration to reality, even if just for a moment or a sweet exchange. You can’t find the magic of the Hudson Valley anywhere because it’s not just full of beauty, it’s full of soul.
The truest art forms and interactions don’t come with an agenda, they just come from a feeling. The Hudson Valley isn’t boastful, it isn’t loud, it’s a beautiful hum. Don’t add it to your notes, just remember.
