Week 2-Journal Entry

The prompt was:  Research has shown that proximity to plants can have a positive impact on our well-being.  People often retreat to the garden for relaxation.  Think of a time that a public garden space, personal garden, or other landscape had an impact on your well being.  What was the place, and what did it do for you?

I seem to find myself going to any type of natural surrounding when I feel stressed or just out of sorts. I think because I am a visual, kinetic learner being somehow engaged with my surroundings seems to get me in another state of mind, therefore allowing my body to rest and restore itself. I know when my father passed away 3 years ago in the month of May it was a very difficult time, stress levels of family members which were- off the chart. So every morning I would just gather a cup of coffee and sit on my back porch listening to the birds, and looking at the flowers growing. It made me feel better being around living things especially when I saw one of my dad’s favorite plants, a gardenia bush, with new blooms. I was then able to gather myself up and handle the difficult task of helping my mother and siblings handle the funeral arrangements and funeral.