A beautiful example of a park in Pasadena, CA.
Now, I don’t usually get political on here. There are many reasons for that. I’m a therapist. We’re supposed to be unbiased. Blah, blah, blah. Also, I can often see the many sides to things, which isn’t always so popular with the black and white thinkers out there. Or all that dramatic. Which I hear is good for the ratings. And I just haven’t. No promises for the future.
But I am going to get a bit political now. Only because this is a topic that’s very black and white for me and those of us who reside in California have an opportunity to vote on it. Since voting equals political, I’m left with no choice.
Lake Tahoe is just one example of the beauty of California (and Nevada).
On this upcoming Tuesday, June 5th all day long and into the evening us Californians will ALL go to the polls to make ALL of our voices heard because that’s what we do here. The one thing we should ALL vote on is Proposition 68 (Or as I like to refer to it Prop 68.): Parks, Environment, and Water Bond, which “authorizes $4 billion in general obligation bonds for state and local parks, environmental protection projects, water infrastructure projects, and flood protection projects.” In other words passing this bond will give us more green space people!
Obviously I encourage this. I’ve researched and written extensively about the benefits of green space. For a brief reminder here are some of the amazing things green space does for us:
- Enhances mental health and physical health
Decreases stress
Decreases aggression
Improves concentration
Enhances spiritual connectedness
Increases social connectedness
Reduces crime
Reduces road rage (Eh, Los Angelenos?!)
Boosts our economy (Eh, everyone?!)
What "Park-Poor" can look like.
What’s especially amazing about this particular Prop is that it earmarks a massive amount of the money ($725 million to be exact!) for neighborhood parks in “park-poor” areas, which are usually socioeconomically poor as well.
Hi fives and dance parties for everyone who lives there. It’s about dang time!
But for those of you who don’t, I know what you’re saying, how does this benefit me? Me, me, me! We’re all the most important person the sun circles around.
I promise you that you’ll still benefit. At some point you will drive through, work in, encounter someone who does live there, in some way you’ll have some connection to the areas around you even if you don’t rest your head there. So in that case take another look at the above bullet points. Wouldn’t you rather have all neighborhoods in your city be healthier, happier, more peaceful, and economically thriving? And if not I’d really love to have a conversation with you to hear your side of things.
Giant Sequoia forest
Plus. PLUS! You’ll still get yours. That isn’t all the money. There’s still a whole bunch (As in billions!) leftover after that to benefit all areas of California.
And for those of you who worry about money and how will we ever pay this off and what if the market crashes or whatever other money worry you may have, again, green space has been shown to create economic growth. So while of course nothing can be guaranteed, the potential economic benefit in the long term is worth some investment.
So get out there on Tuesday and exercise your right to vote. Just make sure your vote is Yes on Prop 68.