Voices

Get a charge out of nature

By Joseph Christian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-03 09:33

I rubbed my eyes as I watched the morning sun slowly inch its way into my bedroom. It was early too early. As I got up, my rubbery legs screamed at me to lie back down.

"No wonder I'm not a morning person," I thought to myself. But I wasn't complaining because my short trip to the window offered me something I had been missing for a long time.

A few meters from my window, amid a green lawn and backdrop of trees, a doe and her two fawns, white spots still on their sides, grazed in the stillness of the morning. A rustle of leaves from a light breeze and the calling of birds were the only sounds to be heard.

On my way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee I stole a look out of the front window and saw a brightly colored blue jay jumping from branch to branch.

In some strange way, my soul felt recharged, even though I was dealing with the full force of jet lag. A little rest and pristine scenes of nature was just what I need to get over the Beijing drain.

Don't get me wrong, Beijing is not a bad city; in fact, it has things that few cities in the world can rival, but when, for a whole year, you are caught up in its hustle and bustle you can, well get a case of concrete madness.

The endless swarms of people, the cookie-cutter apartment buildings, the sounds of your neighbors arguing, it all can be a little bit draining.

Most ordinary people need a good recharge from nature every once in a while and, let's be frank, while Beijing does have numerous parks, it is not like you can wake up in the morning and see deer grazing just beyond the window of your 15th-floor apartment.

Given the constant construction around Beijing, you are more likely to see migrant workers with jackhammers not the most refreshing of scenes.

I know that I am not alone in this feeling. Both my Chinese and foreign friends alike complain about the Beijing drain.

A Chinese former student of mine told me about his experience with the Beijing drain a few weeks back when I had dinner with him and his girlfriend. He works long hours six days a week, so when I asked him how his job was going, I should have expected it wouldn't bring a smile to his face.

"The job is not bad, but I work too much I'm really tired," he said while avoiding eye contact.

I don't blame him - many times, I feel the same way.

Unless you are an incredibly lazy person that has a knack for completely avoiding work, Beijing always has a way of adding things to your schedule. In some ways, that is great, but after a while it leaves your tank hovering just above empty.

A walk in a park or a fun night out with friends will give you a momentary recharge, but the daily grind will surely eat that up again.

Maybe, such a constant rush is a sign of a more cosmopolitan lifestyle; of a more modern and international city, but I know quite a few people who would gladly trade such a life for a quieter one outside Beijing. But for many people like me, the realities of life just don't make that possible.

I might be a city boy, but as I am here in America visiting my family I can't help reflecting that I am an hour outside of Washington DC and I can wake up, look out of my window and see deer.

Unless you get into the mountains, that is just not going to happen anywhere near Beijing - there are just too many people and too many tourist areas.

I am sure in a few weeks I will miss the crowds and fast pace of life in Beijing, I will feel bored and not know what to do.

But for now I am enjoying waking up in the morning with deer outside my window and colorful birds serenading my mornings. It feels good to be close to nature and suck up its vitality. It's nice to have a break from Beijing for a few weeks this summer.

So if you are feeling the Beijing drain during this hot and uncomfortable summer, it might be time to take a few days off and head to a place where you can recharge yourself.