The same patch of grass can host a game, a picnic, and an ordinary private sadness.

Public ground carries unrelated lives at the same time. Twenty metres apart, someone is playing, someone is eating, and someone is sitting with news they have not told anybody yet, and none of them intrudes on the others. That capacity to hold different states without insisting on a single mood is what makes shared outdoor space so useful. A private room cannot do it, and neither can a cafe.

If you need to be sad somewhere this week, a park is a legitimate place for it. If you see somebody alone and still, leave them the space the ground is providing.