[Last modified: October, 16 2024 10:41 AM]
Although not directly tied to my research proposal, I decided I would attempt to gain insight into peoples connection to their living surroundings (for lack of a better word – nature). I was specifically interested in the idea of ‘looking up’ both in the sense of technology but also the physical act of looking up or around oneself when walking through a park.
Luckily it was a sunny day, I sat contentedly on a patch of grass allowing the sun to embrace me. I had a perfect view of the path that leads through Tavistock park. I watched people enter, often with their headphones on – this was my first point of observation. I wondered whether people would take off their headphones to enjoy the sounds of the park – the rustling of the trees, the songs of the birds, the quiet serenity of a moment away from the bustling streets of London which often call for audio distraction. I found that in my time sitting there, and out of the roughly 10 people with headphones on, I noticed only 2 people visibly remove their headphones. Along with this action they seemed to look around as they took them off as if recognizing the entering of a new space.
The action of looking down at ones phone was also very prominent within my time of observation. Roughly 15 people had their phone in their hand while walking through the park, 3 people visibly put it away as they entered (often stopping at the entrance to do so), others continued to look down at it through the entirety of the park. Some people half way through the park looked up from it, looked around and then back down at their phone.
I noticed one person visibly stop where they stood and look up at the sun with their eyes closed. They made me smile. They seemed so content, so happy – it was infectious. I wondered how that simple action would change other peoples moods and potentially alter their day for the better. It reminded me of the idea of forest bathing – but in the London sense – park bathing or forgive the pun – sun bathing.
It dawned on me that my project idea of studying herbalism within London could encompass more than just the use of herbs for medicinal purposes. I could also include alternative forms of medicine such as outdoor meditation, forest bathing, walking meditation, saunas etc.