A Hideaway Amid The Slaving Corporate World

Working in a very busy and modernized city of Makati, taking a break once in a while to recharge the battery is a must.

About five years ago, I came across an article in a magazine that talked up communing with nature by hugging a tree or being near it. Various researches on the latter have been conducted and they consistently showed that it is really beneficial. In fact, we don’t even have to touch a tree to get better. Being within the trees’ vicinity alone already has a beneficial effect. And for office workers, the most relevant benefits are improvement of concentration and reaction times, alleviation of headache, and reduction of stress.

Thank heavens the pleasure garden called Washington Sycip Park in Makati opened in 2006 because it provided me an instant avenue of escape when the going gets tough so to speak. This place, which is just 50 meters away from our workplace, became a sentimental part of my almost seven years of doing an elbow grease in Legaspi Village. The place is truly a befitting destination for anyone who wishes to find a hideaway amid the slaving corporate world.

I finally got the chance to encase some subtle attractions of the park during a lunch break in January last year. That was my last sojourn in the place, three months before I flew to Saudi Arabia.

As I enter the entrance along Gamboa Street, the gloomy sky displayed some sword-like sun rays trying to dig through the doleful clouds making the scene more dramatic while my eyes were gormandizing the soothing environs of the place. A few steps away from the Stonehenge styled gate that is bedecked with giant urns and stones are the inviting and gleaming handrails of the steel koi pond bridge that were pierced by the melancholic firmament.

Looking at the dark green pond with its busy aquatic animals simultaneous with hearing the warble of the visible and unseen birds around was paradisiacal. It would break your heart to ignore the serenade being composed by the soft and delicate sound of the school of colorful koi fish frolicking in the middle of the day. Later on, the gentle breeze wafted my feet to the gazebo a few meters away from the bridge to feel the seating spaces in it. There are also benches underneath the trees where you can just text, read, or simply idle away the moment.

Soon, I did a short stroll to not take pictures but simply indulge in the green abundance of the place that is truly energy-boosting. I could feel the vibrational properties of trees and plants as they purge off the negative energies in me. I could hear the beautiful song produced by the dancing leaves and twigs blown away by the winds.

While I was engaged in my leisurely gait, I noticed something new as I was nearing one of the highest mahogany trees therein opposite the Legazpi Street entrance. A sculpture standing very still like the other majestic trees around: an impressive obelisk. This striking white stone sculpture boasts a pointed edge aiming for the heavens. It resembles the titanic Washington Monument, which provides an impressive contrast to the monotony of the place.

This is something I really long for in the country where I’m at now. Looking on the bright side though, the absence of a nature garden here like the Washington Sycip Park makes me appreciate my homeland more and the trees, too, as they pave the way for that needed connection with nature. It’s been proven that majority of us naturally react to the presence of trees with a pleasant, relaxed, comfortable feeling making their value simply indispensable in our lives.

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