Finding Solitude in the Bustling City
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. - Buddha
Tokyo is a modern city with plenty of shopping areas and towering buildings, but what I liked most about this metropolis is despite all these developments there are green and open spaces to just sit down and let everything sink in. For those who love nature or just want to get away from the hustle and bustle, there are several parks, whether free or paid entrance.
I enjoyed just walking around the parks thinking, sitting down and relaxing as the city outside just went by like a time lapse. I was fortunate enough to catch the start of the blooming of the cherry blossoms in Shinjuku Garden. Some trees have yet to bloom but a handful exploded with pink and red colors.
It was also a time to meet friends I met while traveling. There was a lot of catching up to do, but I was in no hurry during that time.
I was fortunate enough to be in Tokyo during two different and colorful seasons, spring and autumn. For someone from a tropical country, I don't get to experience the cold weather and colors of both these seasons.
The yellows and reds of autumn were a pretty sight, and just waling in and out of the parks was revitalizing after spending hours walking through the city and in and out of subways. Right in these green spaces, time stood still and mother nature was at her finest.
Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy. - Dada Vaswani
Walking through the gardens was like passing through a time warp, the only signs of modernization were the concrete bridges and pavements. The manicured and trimmed trees towered over the gardens.
The parks here are so well-kept and spacious, you can always find a place to sit down and think. Unlike back home in the Philippines, where we just don't care about our surroundings and have this disdain about solitude. We are always in a hurry to rise up the corporate ladder or tick things off our bucket list or things to accomplish before reaching a certain age.
This is just my opinion, but life isn't a race, no one comes out alive at the end of it (pardon the macabre thoughts, knock on wood here). It's not a sprint, it's a marathon, why go at it in such a hurry?
Tokyo is what a city should be like; green, open spaces and parks where people could sit back, reflect and just enjoy life.