Hours of staring at the computer screen. Reading size A3 printouts with tiny Japanese font. Breathing office environment stale air. Time to step outside and stare at the few green, lush trees in the concrete jungle. They almost feel cool. My eyes relax and I feel better. Head feels refreshed. The trees aren’t anywhere close to being on my eyes, and I haven’t come up with some miracle leaf pack that reinvigorates and takes away tiredness (does anyone really put cucumbers on their eyes? Does it work?) but the simple act of looking at the leaves does feel soft and soothing on my eyes.
It’s a small thing, but a brief break from the grayed-out, industrial, functional office setting makes quite a difference. I step outside, find my hidden-away spot on the stairs that lead from the surface level to the courtyard and take a few minutes staring at trees. Sometimes it is raining, and sometimes it is cool. I sometimes take off my shoes as well. Other times it is hot and sticky but the leaves are there, in their deep summer green. And for a few minutes, at least, I am there, too. Or at least I’m not here. I’m somewhere else, and those trees feel good on my eyes.
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