Just a 20-minute walk from my home lies the Hryshko Botanical Garden in Kyiv. Seems near, yet somehow hard to reach. Home is a little universe with everything in it—coffee, food, kettlebells, a place to meditate, a laptop, books.
But apparently not everything, if my body keeps yearning for nature. The mind hurries to dismiss it: “What’s there you haven’t seen? Trees are trees, grass is grass. Boredom and ticks.” Sounds convincing…
…right up until I enter the forest. Suddenly, a wave of smells, colors, textures, silence, and sounds crashes over me. My God, how could I forget this beauty?!
Ashamed and humbled, my mind goes silent for the rest of the walk.
I wander through the vast realms of Eurasia like a giant: “Forests of Ukraine’s plains,” “Ukrainian steppes,” “Carpathians,” “Crimea,” “Central Asia,” “Caucasus,” “Far East.” No joke—130 hectares!
And 1,178 species of living plants—that’s not a microcosm, it’s an entire universe.
Once I’m there, I can’t understand why I resisted the pull. My body fills with energy, my mind clears, my soul starts to sing. As if one person reluctantly walked into the garden, and someone entirely different walks out—alive and awake.
The same kick strikes when I've got to scratch out an article, sketch a raw tale, scrap in the ring, face the mic, or spark a fresh grind. While I chew it over—I stall. When I dive to the edge—lands solid.
Something similar happens every time I’m about to write an article, paint an experience, grapple, give an interview, or start something new. As long as I’m thinking about it—I stall. But once I step into the unknown—it all turns out fine.
Have you felt this shift too, or is it just me?
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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