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A park where peace reigns
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Location: Blogs Now We're Talking |
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| Posted by: Joe Byrnes |
1/27/2007 3:31 PM |
As a kid in rural southern Louisiana, I liked to roam through the countryside, sometimes without a destination, for a whole summer afternoon.
I remember once hiking down a long forest trail and finding at its end a graveyard grown mossy, full of wildflowers and the hum of honey bees. It was, to my eyes, a secret, mysterious place ablaze with sunlight and haunted by many untold stories.
To this day, I see it as a metaphor for moments of wonder and transcendent beauty that break through the tired routines of our lives - and a metaphor, as well, for a quiet, sunny place of love and sadness and hope hidden in the wilderness of the human heart.
This comes to mind because on Sunday afternoon my wife, Lauri, and I visited Sholom Park.
The 45-acre garden at 6602 S.W. 80th Ave. - established two years ago by On Top of the World founder Sidney Colen - is managed by the nonprofit Horticultural Arts and Park Institute, and is free and open to the public during the day. See it online at www.hapi-info.org.
Colen named the park after his grandfather and the Hebrew word often written as shalom.
"It is used in greeting and upon departure," according to a park sign, and means "peace be to you."
That is what Sholom Park is all about: giving its visitors an experience of peace, an hour or two of tranquility, inspiration and insight.
On that sun-drenched afternoon, the park was quiet, even though many couples and other groups could be seen walking or jogging on its seven trails. Most seemed to know that talking or laughing too loud would fracture the mood.
We followed a concrete path down a slope past magnolias, oaks, pines, palmettos and azaleas beginning to bloom. There were beds of pansies and petunias - despite this being the middle of winter - and yellow butterflies and blue jays and warblers.
So we sat on one of the benches, listening to the birds and the breeze and the hum of distant traffic and the drone of small planes from the airport.
It was 81 degrees on this third Sunday of January.
"Well, you know, I suspect this is why people live in Florida," Lauri observed. We walked farther down the slope and entered the Labyrinth Path.
If you follow it, you'll travel slowly past 24 stations overlooking old trees and young ones, a trellis of roses, a tiny stream and pool, and metal signs etched with thought-provoking questions.
At the labyrinth's center, a large ash or hickory - the "Resting Tree" - is surrounded by benches.
Its limbs were bare for the winter, and its finely furrowed gray bark seemed to twist on the trunk as if someone had wrung it dry. I could hear a small flock of crows cawing from the nearby pasture and a hawk calling from above the trees.
Sitting there, I felt all the questions and busy observations fall away. And what was left? Just a moment of peace.
On another trail, we came across Misty and Roger Evans, of Marion Oaks, and 2-year-old Aidan.
I asked them how they liked the park.
"We absolutely love it and so does someone else," Misty Evans said, sitting on a bench and looking over her shoulder at Aidan rummaging in the woods. "It's so peaceful."
It's not a playground, but a place where children can learn to appreciate nature and to value peace and quiet.
"It's a very neat park," Roger Evans said, "but I don't think most people know about it."
Now you know. Shalom.
Joe Byrnes may be reached at joe@ocala.com or (352) 867-4112.
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Re: A park where peace reigns |
By Michael on
1/25/2007 8:47 AM |
I recall in my child hood... spending hours walking through the woods in North New Jersey where I grew up... enjoying the peacefulness of the birds singing in the morning... the shuffling of leaves as the Squirrels rummaged form food.
More so, I recall a presence... and a feeling of not being alone... even though I was unless you counted the animals. I do not think I was aware of it then but know now that its was Gods presence... and it reminds me of the type of fellowship that existed in the Garden of Eden between God and man.
I truly miss those days... and as I get older, find it much harder to escape the routines of daily life and go back to that place of peace and amazement of the beauty of our world and the love our creator has for us. |
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Re: A park where peace reigns |
By Joe Byrnes on
1/25/2007 12:56 PM |
| Wow, Michael, what a profound thought, beautifully expressed! Thank you for your comment. |
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Re: A park where peace reigns |
By Terri on
2/27/2007 9:04 PM |
| This park is so beautiful. It is truely a hidden treasure. |
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Re: A park where peace reigns |
By Steve Curl on
7/24/2007 8:02 PM |
| Joe...I came across your blog and it truely made me feel good. I was fortunate to be a part of Sholom park from its earliest times. I left the park in Dec. of 06 and currently reside in the midwest. I am so glad we are achieving our goal. Peace.....from ones self to others...to even countries....it starts with knowing and experiencing true peace. It truely is a wonderful park and I hope all get the same feeling as you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts while visiting the park. |
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