Empty Walls

Is it just me or everyone has the "waiting room mood” altered by the waiting room looks? Especially in medical offices and hospitals, where waiting equals a diverse mix of anxiety, impatience, and boredom... At least in my case. Hospitals are about sick people who need to be healed or made feel better, and I am certain the hospital environment plays a role in this process, too. Imagine feeling feverish and nauseated and being seated in a waiting room in the corridor with just a poster of emergency measures hanging lonely on one wall, while elevator doors and clerk windows break the white of the other walls. That would enhance my anxiety and invite me to run away. Even if there is not much space available, a few walls to separate the waiting room from the main corridor would help. And if pictures of beautiful landscapes, animals or people, or any art work inductive to relaxation and positive thinking could be hung on the walls, that would improve my mood. Oh, aquariums, too! I dare say it may also ease my nausea and I'd certainly be a more patient patient. Hospitals here in Oz, as well as Pathology centers and small medical offices, have empty walls maybe with a big TV screen blasting some sort of news at you. With so many free pictures to download from the Internet and so many artists who would donate some of their work to be exhibited for free, I cannot (for the life of me) understand why nobody thinks of covering the walls in a way that helps the sick. I was also fortunate to have worked in a large medical center in the US where drawings, paintings, pictures and even art created by patients (big or small!) added so much warmth to that hospital environment, it was healing in itself! Rebelling against these empty walls, I've added a picture entitled colors with this post. It is from the tulip festival.