Letter to Self IV-Changing Lanes
A memory from a fast-paced fall walk in New York, and a quiet reminder to move through change with awareness, softness, and intention.
Dear you,
Some memories wait quietly until the moment we’re ready to learn from them.
This week, I found myself slowing down - noticing the pace I’ve been moving at, and the subtle shifts I’ve made without naming them- To Let Go and Let God. A small moment from 2016 came back to me, seemingly out of nowhere, but perfectly on time.
In this week’s letter, I revisit that memory, one that starts on a crowded sidewalk in New York and ends in a reflection about transitions, presence, and the invisible traces we leave behind.
I hope it meets you where you are.
With love & light,
A.C.
~
In the Fall of 2016, I had just come back to New York after leaving for a few months.
It was one of those busy week days where everything sticks — skin, sound, city. I was speed-walking through the Upper West Side, chatting on the phone with my mother in France.
I was laughing too loudly, as I tend to do, headphones in, half in the world, half somewhere else.
Suddenly, I felt someone close behind me. An older man. He startled me, and I stopped walking. I pulled out an earbud and smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you - what did you say?”
He looked at me -not unkindly, but not exactly amused either - and said, “You should signal when you change lanes.” He said it again: “You zigzag a lot. People can’t keep up with you.” Then he walked off -and, ironically, began zigzagging through the crowd himself.
I remember laughing to myself as I stood there on the sidewalk, caught in the absurdity of New York, a place that always offers lessons in unexpected ways.
This week, as I moved through a very different rhythm, much quieter and slower than that moment in 2016, I found myself thinking about his words again.
“You should signal when you change lanes.”
Back then, I thought it was just another odd city interaction. But now, it feels like a metaphor I missed at the time. A reminder that our shifts- whether small pivots or big life changes -have ripples. And when we move fast or suddenly, it’s okay to slow down long enough to notice who & what we are impacting, including ourselves.
Sometimes, we don’t realize how fast we’re going until someone else can’t keep up. Or until we can’t.
And sometimes, zigzagging is just part of figuring it out.
(From October 27th 2016, reviewed for the purpose of this letter to self IV)
🌿 This Week’s Compass
What rhythms am I moving to — and are they mine?
Where in my life have I shifted lanes without signaling — to myself or others?
Can I find softness in my own zigzagging — and trust the path it’s making?
✨ A Ritual: Compass Walks
Once this week, take a slow walk without a destination.
Let your feet guide you. No phone GPS, no goal. Just movement.
As you walk, observe:
What do you notice when you’re not in a hurry?
What feels like it’s pulling your attention -or your body ( if so which part)-in a certain direction?
Where do you pause naturally?
“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.”
— Anatole France