While walking through the park, I kept trying to focus on my surroundings through a "lens" of some kind--a familiar lens and an unfamiliar one. It didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Instead of focusing on the park through the lens of an English major, like I had planned, I focused through the lens of a cynic. Instead of noticing the beauty of the park, I saw the litter, the construction, and the mind-boggling disgusting effects humans have on "nature." I felt a lot of contempt for the park because of all the human interference. There were construction workers seemingly everywhere, just lots of loud men with dead-yellow machinery whirling away. Exercise equipment dotted the walkway, and there were manmade fountains in the middle of the pond. Many of the trees were held up by wire and metal poles, and the pond was trashed with empty cans and bags of potato chips. In the middle of all of the seemingly natural trees and the pond, there was gigantic, unnaturally green golf course. Even though I know this place is pleasant--I enjoy Audubon Park a lot--I just couldn't wrap my mind around the idea that this was my idea of "nature." I am not the kind of person to go hiking up a mountain with my bare hands, but I suddenly felt very disgusted with myself that this was my idea of a natural environment when it is just more manmade than anything.
The other side of the spectrum was much more pleasant when I started noticing it. Rather than focusing on the effect of humans on this environment, I saw the effect of this environment on humans. Everyone I saw in the park looked happy: the construction workers, the people riding on horses, the man who was painting, the joggers, and even I felt happier being outside. It was a pretty bleak day; the sun wasn’t out and it looked ready to rain. But I still enjoyed watching the ducks and sitting under a gigantic oak tree. It is odd that even in cold weather, with a bad cough and a runny nose, I just felt happy to be outside. Even if it is a manmade imitation of nature, Audubon park is still pleasant because it is the closest piece of “nature” that I am comfortable with.