A Time For Relaxation

Amongst the chaos of everyday life, we forget to take time out for ourselves and enjoy the environment around us. For me, trying to find a physical place to release the constant flow of thoughts going through my head never crosses my mind. I always turn to the television or internet to provide an alternative to my stressful days. But what I and other people fail to realize is that there are landscapes that serve "as an ideal world of rural simplicity and tranquility" (723).

When I think of a garden, images such as beautiful flowers blossoming like the ones pictured above or fruits growing in rows come to mind. Even though I don't turn to the relaxation of gardening, I watched my great-grandfather plant vegetables and fruits when I was younger. At the time, I did not realize how this exercise helped him mentally and physically. It isn't just the fact of being in a garden that brings relaxation and tranquility but the art of creating your own garden can bring you to mental state where you are able to block out the troubles of everyday life.

I remember when we visited the Taniguchi Gardens and how I felt a sense of change after leaving. It was my first true one on one experience with nature. Not only does the scenery spark a positive feeling, but the serenes of everything including the streams, bamboo, flowers, and creatures forces you to capture the calmness and peacefulness. The architecture of the structures like the one pictured to the left allowed me to get a feel of the culture Isamu Taniguchi was trying to portray. I remember sitting in this particular structure. Even though I was surrounded by other individuals, my mind was still able to slip into a mode of peacefulness and relaxation as I looked at the nature that surrounded me.
Verlyn Klinkenborg describes landscape in terms of, "the feeling is aesthetic, but it's also far more visceral than that: it's the sensation of being exalted and being put back in your place at the same time" (721). I agree that landscape evokes a feeling of beauty or aesthetic and that one brings you to a different place in the present time. Meditation and relaxation are techniques that allow you to escape into a different world that is open to all possibilities. It can be as pleasant and unpleasant as you like; you make the decision of how your process of relaxation is going to play out.

The advantage of having gardens and other landscapes is that individuals have the opportunity to mediate in a peaceful, tranquil place that will heighten their relaxation period. "The experience of being in such landscapes is always powerful, but so is the experience of transition-crossing back and forth from one world to another" (722). Furthermore, places like the Taniguchi Gardens and the Tower Memorial Garden can be one's transition from the real world into their world of relaxation.

Even though the Tower Memorial Garden was created in honor of a tragedy, it still allows individuals to capture the essence of calmness but also allow individuals to meditate on the lives of others. Most of the time during meditation, individuals focus on themselves and the thoughts that are running through their heads. The Tower Memorial Garden still allows individuals to relax and ponder their thoughts, but it presents a specific event to meditate on. The words "Violence," "Chaos," and "Loss" that is portrayed on the north side of the Tower Garden's pond brings about the first stage of meditation for its visitors; one is able to block out the chaos that is happening all around and focus on the tragedy that is represented in the garden. Then, the words "Reflection," "Solace," and "Hope" on the south side of the pond brings individuals into the healing process stage of the garden.

"The circular nature of the memorial encourages the visitor to move from one zone to another, from one kind of emotion to another, from one level of emotion to another, to be transformed and remember" (725). This statement symbolizes the journey made while relaxing or meditating. My meditation period starts most likely with a feeling of a heavy burden or anger. As my meditation continues, my burden lifts and my emotions begin to soften and ease up. by the end, I feel completely different from how I started. Each minute that passes while I am meditating, marks a different emotion; one that is more positive than the previous one. The circular garden pictured to the left is an illustration how relaxation can turn your emotions 360 degrees. The small size of the garden shows how quickly my emotions change while in a state of relaxation.

E. M. Forster brings up a point when he states, "For we of the road do not admit in conversation that there is another side at all" (730). This statement makes me realize that relaxation and meditation are not common topics in conversation. I believe that everyone meditates to a certain extent when they daydream, but the details of such meditations are not discussed. It raises the questions "Do I not meditate in public landscapes because it is not a common exercise?" or "Are people really meditating when you see them in places such as gardens and other similar landscapes?"

The practice of using landscapes as a mode of meditation and relaxation has not been option for me up until now. I have learned that landscapes can bring me into another level of meditation that cannot be reached in the normal realms of sitting in bed or riding in a car. Actually sitting down in Mother Nature and fully capturing the scenery and different objects that contribute to the tranquility of that place will I truly be able to say I have experienced the full power of relaxation.