An Overview of Parks

Throughout history parks have captured the imagination of artists and philosophers, and have offered the nurturing comfort of aesthetic beauty to everyday people. Parks such as Yosemite national park can be thought of as a place of solitude and reflection. These parks serve as geographical learning institutions with an unlimited abundance of information that teaches us who we are, where we came from and what is possible. Henry David Thoreau, the great American writer of the woods, was standing at the foot of the Merrymack Rivers when he wrote, “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” In this light, he was referring to the flowers, leaves and life around him as having a sacred value and suggested that the Ecoworld one finds in a park is a reflection of something more profound than just surrounding fauna. Over the years, our parks have become the ultimate recreational, leisurely and educational locations for people to connect and experience the wonders of what it means to be human.

Experience State and National Parks

According to research, parks of every kind are embraced by local neighborhoods because they offer people that transpersonal uplifting experience to feel a sense of belonging, not only to a community, but also to an entire planet. In this regard, parks offer more than just a fun and enjoyable environment to escape from the chaotic nature of urban lifestyles, but also give people a life-affirming opportunity for connection, unity and alignment with the world around us. Whether the intention is to go for a quiet contemplative stroll between the ageless noble trees in a National Park, or a visit to a corner playground for a rock on a swing, or even a chance to see a popular musical or theatrical performance in an enchanting environment, parks have become the go-to location for relaxation, pleasure, and growth.

The hidden treasures of City Parks

As many of us know, Parks come in all shapes and sizes, but they all seem to have one common element that ties them all together: they offer people a chance to breathe. To a metropolitan living in a huge city, one can not underestimate the experience of walking in the foothills of a city park like Griffith Park in Hollywood, CA, or Central Park in Manhattan where between the urban landscapes you are able to enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views that connect industrial development with organicity reminding us of the duplicity of nature. With that in mind, one knows that parks also offer the wonders of possibility and nature’s miraculous perfection by visiting the inspiring elegance of Old Faithful spurting from the vortex of the Earth in Yellowstone National Park, or marveling at the ingenuity of human creativity when observing the monumental vision of the valiant faces of our forefathers on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Just a walk through the Red Rocks of Nevada or the Badlands of South Dakota gives one a feeling of being on another planet, but every experience seems to enliven something within us about our world that is authentic and fills us with a sense of pride. These epic-sized transcendent National Monuments offer the public evolutionary stories of mammals and ancestors who survived since the beginning of time and to this day remain as a testament to the plasticity of all forms of life.

How parks educate us

Parks document how all life has survived through time and reveal the magnificence of sharply eroded pinnacles, buttes, and spires. In a park we may be inspired by the endearing vision of bison, eagles soaring through the sky, or a quick-footed witty colony of foxes who roam in any one of the protected long-green prairies in the United States. Without a doubt, Parks connect us to the Earth and to nature in ways that no other kind of facility can. Like three-dimensional paintings, we walk through these landscapes realizing that we are on the most beautiful planet and there is a feeling of profound gratitude that complements every breath and gaze as we move through the transcendent borders of time.

Family Parks and Recreation

Parks of all kinds provide people with a unique chance to be inside the ecosystem that give families, teachers and nature lovers a chance to feel grounded, safe and serene. Ask any family of any economical status and the top choice to spend precious holiday time are parks. “Never lose an opportunity to see anything that is beautiful,” wrote the great American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote while reflecting on the wonders of nature. “It is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower.” In this regard, Parks offer us all a chance to meet in an equal environment where there are no differences between us, but just the acceptance of equality that is shared in the communal appreciation of a beautiful aesthetic location that gives humanity its breath and our minds a chance to pause and embrace the miracle of life.