Do Puerto Rican citys & towns like San Juan have any "Feng Shui" factors, or are they just poorly organized concrete jungles?
Wikipedia defines “Feng Shui” as:
… an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy) and earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi…
But Feng Shui to the typical American means little more (with an extreme simplification) than “the best way to organize“… typically your home, but also could be your work space, yard, or even your town. Any space is fair game for the principles of Feng Shui.
From what I see in Puerto Rico… the urban parts of the island (and many of the small towns) seem almost Anti-Feng Shui.
While most of us don’t know about or buy into all of the philosophy, we can look at photos in a design magazines or catalogs and “notice” that the room looks nice, comfortable, inviting, or even “positive”… in other words: a room you might like to spend some time in.
I have no intention of trying to define it further. Let’s just allow Feng Shui, for the purposes of this discussion, to symbolize “healthy spaces“… something that is a pleasure to look at, or be surrounded by without giving you a headache or elevated stress level.
While natural Puerto Rico has amazing beauty (and I am guessing boatloads of Qi), urban Puerto Rico is what I refer to as a “Concrete Jungle”. Metal, concrete, and heat… but not much space for anything. When I have a visit to San Juan scheduled, I actually start to feel physically sick… my body giving me a pre-cursor of how I will feel when I get there… and perhaps warning me against it.
Now – for you city dwellers – many of you might think I am crazy. After all, I grew up in the rural North much in contract to most of you. My neighbors consisted most of thousands of acres of green trees bordering the ocean. However I do understand that city folks, like New Yorkers, often tell you they can’t live without the noise and inter workings of the city. Perhaps I have just not “adapted” or “given up” yet.
I am not suggesting you all quit your jobs and become tree planters. However, even if you love the city, that does not mean it has to be a Concrete Jungle. It is possible to organize a city more effectively, and still have those armies of pedestrians and honking horns that make “you” feel at home co-exist.
But Puerto Rico takes bad organization to the extreme:
- How often have you arrived at a small restaurant or even doctor’s office and found cars triple parked? Solution: Oh – when you need to get out, just go inside and start trying to find the owners to move their cars blocking you in.
- How about the many private churches who (due to lack of parking space) have just as many “parking staff” show up on Sunday as they do to pass around the 10% basket?
- How about the brand new Financial Co-op & new plaza businesses on Highway 100 in Cabo Rojo (across from Mr. Special; near Wendy’s, Ricomini’s, and KFC) who does not feel it is within their best interests to get that 2-3 feet high weed grass cut near the intersection?
- How about those San Juan gated communities that have about exactly 1 car length to park your car, 3 feet of walk way, no back yard, and then windows covered in jail bars?
- How about those unbelievably narrow streets in downtown Mayaguez that make it look like it should be open to pedestrian and saddle backed traffic only?
- How about all those Coors Lite, Medalla, & assorted banners that are tied all over every part of Puerto Rico as though it were a Nascar vehicle saturated with sponsorship decals?
- How about the “Pico Pico” restaurant in Boqueron that has great food, great ambiance, yet absolutely no room to sit comfortably in order to have an enjoyable meal (in my opinion) due to tables/chairs packed ultra close together (not to mention their triple parked parking lot)? What your elbows.
That is not good use of space. That is ugliness, stress, and just plain discomfort.
Puerto Rico, when it comes to organization and healthy use of space (whether you call it Feng Shui or anything else) gets a failing grade. I just hope urban planners budget a little extra for some Qi to turn Puerto Rican concrete jungles like San Juan into more enjoyable, healthy, stress free places to visit.
FYI – If you need some breathable space in San Juan, go to the train station in Caguas. The modern design, with plenty of open space, makes it a nice place to seek solace from the negative energy of the rest of the urban jungle out there.
The Insider
