Hidden Treasures of the NY Botanical Gardens

I had forgotten I took this picture, but scrolling though my phone’s photos I found it and remembered how ephemeral the experience was. So if you cannot recognize, this is a picture of the Botanical Gardens. However even regular goers probably don’t recognize this place. This area takes about an hour to walk to, and even then is an obscure place to walk to along one of the forest trails. I took this photo during November when the green of the gardens were fading and honestly no one was visiting the Botanical Gardens. And I don’t blame them, it’s not appealing to walk in really cold conditions and the only way to ride the bus is to pay like 50 dollars. But despite these things, it made a really surreal experience when I reached this area. It was around the time that the gardens were closing and everything was quiet except the sound of water falling (from the waterfall you see obviously). The sensation of being completely alone was honestly refreshing, especially considering that I was technically in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. I think I stayed here for a good 10 minutes, but it felt a lot longer than that. I sat on the cold stone chair and eventually just laid down on it, closing my eyes and trying to forget the life I was living and who I was. It’s an experience I know I will never have again, but one I’m glad I had.

Days after this experience, I felt myself coming back and reliving the moments. Not only a longing or awe or how lucky I was to feel so tranquil, but also a sense of appreciation and gratitude. Many of the natural marvels within New York’s busy streets were the results of the hard efforts of those generations before us. During times where our knowledge of our planet and environmental protection was little to nonexistent, there were people who went out of their way to protect what little was left. And those efforts echo throughout our days today for everyone to enjoy. It makes me realize that the efforts and actions we have now will also be appreciated in the future, that is if we don’t destroy our planet before future generations can exist.