The hostel I'm staying in has an 8th-floor "city-view lounge" with a view of the Charles River, the MIT dome, and the skyline of Boston. Sometimes I'm leery of hostels, of them being scummy, anxiety-producing places full of noise, cross-traipsing strangers, and (who knows) collapsing beams. But at times—moments like these, looking over the calm blue flow of the Charles and proud flotillas of clouds above—I find that the universe is surprisingly generous in what it offers.