Hello there, it’s me again. I know we haven’t spoken in a minute. So what’s been going on since the last time we touched base? Well, we’ve been on lockdown for over a year now, but things are slowly starting to open up and get somewhat back to normal. Not much has changed since my previous entry, other than I turned 38 in February (yikes!) and I started reading more books this year. I’ve managed to keep sane after all this time – thank you baby Jesus! Has it gotten boring at times? Yup! am I over it? Yup! But hey, what can you do? Just gotta ride it out and maintain some level of optimism. Things will get better, they always do. That’s why you just have to make the best of each and every moment (hence the name of this blog). I’ve been reading a few books that revolve around living in the moment/present and they’ve helped tremendously whenever the anxiety or existential dread rears its ugly head. That’s been pretty much my life since forever and more-so in the last year. A constant back and forth of appreciating life, finding happiness in the small moments while also trying not to dwell and over think about certain things that are outside of my control. The books have helped. I’ll probably write a post about which ones have been my favorites at some point.

Anyhow, enough rambling, the reason I titled this entry “Green” was because of something I saw a few months ago. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve gone on daily morning walks after my 8am status call for work. It’s an excuse to get out of the house, get some fresh air and also some exercise. It also helps provide content for my instagram stories since there’s so much daily comical nonsense to be seen around the city. I’ve pretty much walked all over the city hundreds of times, always making an effort to not be on my phone and just absorb/appreciate what’s around me – from the people to the architecture. There’s lots of beauty to be found if you’re looking in the right places. It’s also beneficial to be paying attention to where you are going so that you don’t end up stepping on dog poop! So back to the story, a couple of months ago I was waiting for the light on the corner of Flower and Wilshire. I randomly noticed a lady walking her dog go up to a tree and hug it. Yeah, a real life tree hugger! In downtown LA of all places! It was an odd thing to see, so on my way back from my walk I went to check out the tree and there was a sign on it from the city indicating that it was going to be cut down for some street work. The lady had seen the sign and decided to give the tree a hug as a good bye.

At first glance it’s odd and a bit comical to see someone hug a tree. But the truth is, plants are also living beings and they are friggin’ awesome. They provide us with oxygen and a shit ton of other benefits. I was reading a chapter in a book recently where they conducted studies about the benefits of green spaces in urban environments simply by observing and interviewing the residents of a housing project – some of them had views of green spaces and the others had views of just concrete. As you would assume, the residents with the green space views had better overall health and happiness levels. I grew up around plants since my dad was into gardening, so it’s always nice for me to be around plants (my apartment is full of them and they always brighten my mood). I could go on and on about plants, but I would just start to ramble again (why are you like this Oscar?! lol). In doing my best to live in the moment and also acknowledge the fact that everything is interconnected, I’ve come to appreciate moments like the one I just described with the lady and the tree. Who know’s how long it will be standing there on that corner, but for now, I am happy that it is there. And as always, thank you for reading! Until the next one…