Tag Archives: mental health

I’d like to start this off with an exercise, if you’ll allow it. Think of the last time you were at a park — national, neighborhood, or otherwise. And if you can’t remember when that was exactly, then I encourage you to put your head down in solemn silence, and legitimately consider the possibility that you’ve made anywhere from one to several huge mistakes. As for the rest of us more parkly folk, do you remember how you generally felt? More specifically, would you say you were upset at any point? If so, was it for very long? Did it help to be surrounded by the natural environment of man? Approximately how much of your time was spent gazing calmly at the abounding nature in the rare, blissful state of mental silence? You may have noticed that all of these questions are skewed towards an obvious bias. And whether or not your answers went in the direction I had blatantly hoped they would, or if you had any answers at all, is irrelevant. I only hoped to get you thinking about how you think about parks in relation to your well-being. Because it is my not so sneaking suspicion that other people besides myself, and including you, have grown accustomed to taking parks for granted. It took all but thirty seconds of casual consideration, and Googling, to realize that having easy access to parks and nature in an otherwise metropolitan, fast-paced, technologified world has had an immeasurably positive impact on my mental health. And I can’t help but wonder if maybe I can make you feel the same way (if you are confident that your appreciation for parks can grow no further, you are not my target audience). Continue reading→