In February of 2024, we released our fifth Open Call: Using art, letters, stories, and poetry, tell us: how might we create healthy spaces and places for all? The following is a letter submission we received from this open call.

“It describes a healthy space in terms of the personal definition of what a “healthy space” really means. It matters to me because it reminds me and can remind others too, that you don’t always have to run away to somewhere distant to get to your healthy place. Your healthy place can be right at the center of your life- literally and descriptively. It can be right in your sitting room, your bedroom, your office, a park in your neighborhood, your church or mosque. It is only a healthy space or place as long as you choose to be fully present in it, embracing all of the mundane things within the grasp of your senses.”

Oluwakorede Adedeji

“More Than a Park Bench”

Hello,
Nice to meet you!
Don’t worry about my name, I’ll explain further as you read along.

On this bench you sit lies my happiest place in the world. Yes, this same old bench with the rusted metal frame and visible cracks in the wooden back. It does sit nicely though, looking sturdy enough to last another 50 years.

Pause a little, look around you. What do you see? Trees and dirt? Kids all wet? Look closer, it’s more than that. Look at the joy, look at the smiles, look at the beautiful palette of life. I’d give up anything to be here again, but my time has passed and now it’s yours, for the next 25 minutes you plan to sit. I lived a few miles away, facing north and worked at the hospital in the opposite direction. You can almost see both buildings from here (only if you are tall enough though). My parents lived not so far away either. This was indeed the center place of my world.

More than just the center, it was the healthiest place for me, but this was not at first glance. It took a couple of visits, and it will too, for you. What lies before you is more than a park, it is a beautiful mix of ages and emotions- kids at the swing, parents waiting to pick them up, grandpas and grannies laughing over an event that no one remembers. Beyond the eyes, it is a beautiful soundtrack. Close your eyes and you can almost make a beat out of it- the tears, the laughter, the birds and the rustling leaves. Even though I sit right at the center of all of my life’s activities, I find my healthy place in this present, in this spot, shielded in the very appreciation of what I perceive, and locked in, for a very brief moment.

So take a deep breath, open your mind, and enjoy this space. It is your healthy place if you choose it to be. And if it doesn’t work for you, always remember that your healthy place can be anywhere- far off in the woods or here in the city, only if you are as present as I am in this space.

With love,
A stranger who loved a Park Bench

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