Nature is the catalyst for life.
Outside the door is a row of Bauhinia trees. When I moved in and started furnishing the house, it was also the time when the flowers bloomed. The people at the project said that this was the first season of flowers. That year, I had just gone through some rough patches and didn’t have the mood to admire flowers. But the pleasant scent of the Bauhinia flowers was very comforting, it seemed to soothe all my senses. Whenever I felt stressed, I would stand on the balcony on the 3rd floor, admire the vibrant yellow color on the branches, immerse myself in the forest scent, forget about things that shouldn’t be remembered, be content with the present, including forgiveness and letting go.
I love plants, so I chose to live in Ecopark, a place that truly has a living environment of “forest in the city, city in the forest”. Transitioning from the city, where the balcony can only accommodate paper flowers or cacti, I was fascinated by every bush, blade of grass, and large trees planted in the parks around the house.
My family has three bicycles. No matter how busy we are on weekends, I always make time to ride bikes with my children on the tree-lined roads, enjoy the scent of flowers and leaves, and when we get tired, we find a spot by the roadside or visit a café to rest. It is also a time for the children to open up to me, sharing stories from school, friends, and things they used to keep to themselves. We would sit with our legs stretched out on the grass, under the brilliant pink of the Tường Vy flowers, and watch the swans swimming in Thiên Nga park…
Before moving to Ecopark, I was a workaholic, always busy, without much time for myself and my family. I always felt silly living so far from my workplace, wasting an hour commuting from home to the office. I also thought that cooking breakfast every day or spending two hours having a facial massage was a waste of time. Even on days off, I would bring work home because I wanted to finish ahead of schedule. My children often complained that I was too busy and didn’t spend enough time with them. Looking back at that time, when they needed me to pick them up, take care of them, listen to them, and share things that they only kept to themselves, my heart would ache because I prioritized work over everything else.
 Nature is a “tonic” for the body and mind.
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Moving homes is a turning point in life.
Moving homes is a very big step in life. When moving, I only thought simply about finding a quiet place with many trees, reducing the intensity of work, trying to change my lifestyle, engaging in sports, taking care of my health, and also at that time, my eldest son was going to the University, choosing the Contemporary Creative Application major at the BUV University in Ecopark, while my youngest son loved basketball and football, always wishing there was a basketball court near home for daily practice. Selling a small old house of about 10 square meters, I switched to a 150 square meter house in Ecopark. All three of us were overwhelmed by the spacious and comfortable living space, fascinated by every little corner in the warm and personal space that reflects our individual preferences, a harmonious combination of shared and private spaces, with a reading room, an entertainment room, and most importantly, friendly neighbors, a living space filled with greenery.
 Buildings emerging amidst the nature of Ecopark.
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I used to have many concerns when changing my living environment, one of them was fearing that life on this side would be far from the city center and would be lonely. However, after moving, I realized that the feeling of loneliness didn’t even have a chance to appear because the daily time allocation was very reasonable. Life slowed down, but not in the sense of being slow and boring, but to indulge myself more, feel more fulfilled, and the four-season nature, like a remedy for the heart, nurtured my soul and emotions.
Every morning, I wake up early, spend 40 minutes doing Zumba with the neighbors. After exercising, I quickly make breakfast for the children. While they greet me and ride their bikes to school, I sit back, enjoy a cup of tea, check emails, plan my day’s work. If there are days when I can work online, I will work from home. For meetings with partners or friends that require offline communication, I set aside one or two days a week to go to the city for convenience.
In the evening, when the children come home from school, they can play basketball or badminton with their friends in the free sports areas for residents, or go swimming together. Lately, the golf trend has been on the rise, so our family spends one day a week playing golf in the 9-hole golf course near home. I also do yoga twice a week. When the weather is nice, our group lays out mats in the park for practice, and in colder weather, we practice in the warm and clean community room.
Thanks to regular exercise, walking, and proper time allocation for work and self-care, our family is healthier, happier, and more energetic than before. Although income has decreased slightly due to a reduced workload, I feel more satisfied and at peace. With reduced expenses, I find that my life is more balanced and happier, with less stress and unrealistic expectations.
Now my joy is, at night before going to bed, scrolling through Facebook while watching the children imitating a character in a movie, holding a ball in their hands, their faces beaming with joy from releasing energy after a stressful day of studying. The clean and safe living environment is a huge plus that allows our family to slow down and be more peaceful, happier every day.
If someone asks me if I want to move back to the old quarter to live, I would shake my head. However much I miss the busy and vibrant life in the city center, I will still remember the beautiful memories of the past. But at this point in time, I prefer a street with Bauhinia flowers blooming in yellow in April, spreading a sweet scent throughout the night. I like the friendly neighbors, true to the saying “neighbors are like family”. I like the living environment that is carefully curated so that residents feel happy.
In Ecopark, our neighborhood is very close-knit, and the living environment is the catalyst for our behavior. Perhaps because of that, in this space with nature nearby, nature acts as a healing catalyst, no one needs to be aggressive, no one needs to be deceptive, and no one needs to extinguish someone else’s candle to make their own shine.
Exercising amidst nature is the healthy lifestyle of Ecopark residents.
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Our home, the home that stops the storm behind the door, is the home where I can leisurely sit in front of the porch, talk through the sparse fence with our neighbors, while waiting for the children to come home, in the midst of flying spring rain, in the sound of simmering rice, in the scent of fresh rice, in the gentle voices of children passing by, our home, every morning when I open the door, the sun’s rays shine through the trees, leaving warm, sparkling traces on the ground, reminding me that today is a new day.
Our home in Ecopark, a place created for every resident to reach out for happiness, because living a happy life means living in a happy place…
