New Space for You to Enjoy: Lovely Times at the Sister Cities Garden in Bakersfield

One of the secret joys of taking Emma to school every day is I have found tucked away spaces to enjoy after she is safely delivered to school.  These are spaces I can get creative early in the morning before returning to my home office. 

This morning I visited and wrote in one of my favorite new haunts, a space only recently created by the Bakersfield Recreation and Parks department.

Tucked away in a nook at 525  18^th street not far from Mexicali’s is the Sister Cities Garden, an oasis in peacefulness close to the heart of downtown. The first time I visited I wasn’t quite sure where I had landed, but now I visit about once a week and I am always sweetly satisfied when I leave.

Today I sat on a bench and scribbled in my notebook and thought of the variety of ways people could use this space for their own reflective moments. Certainly one could sit and contemplate or invite a friend for a quiet conversation, but perhaps even more engaging would be to invite a friend along for some side-by-side creative time in the garden.

There are separate areas for each sister city. You and three friends, for example, could each choose a different “home” in one of the city areas. That is your “home base.” You could take a half hour to write, sketch, photograph, meditate, sing, knit, stretch, do yoga poses or just be present to the surroundings.

After the thirty minutes separately yet together, reconvene and share what you created. As this is all “rough draft” people may share constructively and positively and each person will go away not only with the beginnings of something “bigger” (an essay, poem, blog post, sweater, scarf, song, composition, dance or a more connected mind, body and spirit.) but also a sense of community.

Sister Cities, after all, are about connection. I visited this morning and was able to have a few moments of contemplative planning for my day as well as express myself creatively. Spending time there allowed me to have a clear, lovely start to my day.

The Sister Cities Garden is a quiet gem perfect for you to reconnect with yourself and perhaps, reconnect with others as well.

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Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Spring, 2014 and beyond. 

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