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Gardening as therapy, the light

It’s been a while now since I wrote of nature (see Notes One), so here I want to look again at what it offers us.

Occasionally, reports crop up articulating nature’s value for managing our inner lives (example below); suggesting that our disconnection from the natural world might be contributing to other mental, physical or social ills. And, while it’s interesting to see such ‘ancient wisdom’ re-emerging through the scientific lens, I wonder if there’s more to it than just the soothing experience of natural scenery: whether therapeutic value arises more from its inner truths.

With gardening, in a really practical sense, what we do matters: within the walls of a garden, our intentions can be nursed to fruition. Whatever we want to achieve, if we know the environment and the plants we wish to bring into it then we can create something and that something will create ripples into the world that surrounds us.

There’s truth to the climate, the seasons, and the positioning that allows or blocks light to certain areas. Also to the soil and whether it’s rich with potential, or more exhausted of that which might give rise to life. Then the wisdom of our choices and the consistency with which we tend them: if we plant the wrong thing, it may never grow or thrive; if we misunderstand its needs, it’s probably not going to work as we’d hoped.

In doing this, we place ourselves within our environment with our vision, our knowledge and our actions. We have to understand what we’re trying to achieve and that understanding should filter into what we do. We need to be responsive to changes in the weather and the seasons, as well as to threats within the ecosystem.

There’s real beauty to all of that: the vision, the presence of mind, the purposeful application of knowledge, the alertness to signs within the environment, the tuning into natural rhythms. And it’s an intensely personal creative endeavour: you imagine what you want there to be; you make it happen; and, when it does, you know it was your cooperation with nature that brought it about.

On a vast scale that becomes truly impressive. That people had the vision, foresight, commitment, and patience to plant saplings that would one day become a varied and stately parkland amazes me. Many people must have never lived to see what they imagined to be worthwhile, which is surely testament to their faith in its ultimate value.

And, taking therapy as the relieving or healing of disorder, all that must trickle down to our feeling of engagement with life: that seasons come and go, intentions may be realised or prove themselves mistaken, but behind it all there’s this truth and beauty to what’s been possible. That’s often immensely valuable and heart-warming to those involved; but also for those who take in the results, aware as they may or may not be of the thought, hope and perseverance that went into it all behind the scenes.

Notes and References:

Guardian article on links between nature, depression and overall health

Note 1: Natural World
Note 1: Living the dream
Note 1: Nature tells a story, about society

Leading on from this, there’s Gardening as therapy, the dark

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What inspires all of this

Having started this writing project with only a relatively loose sense of where it was headed, it’s an interesting question to revisit.

Modern life is challenging in many ways: full of divergent opinions, careless realities, and struggles for meaning or worth (see Notes One). And it seems to me that the way we think about that and engage with it might really make a difference (Notes Two).

In a way, life is thought: everything around us and everything we do carries meaning and generally arose out of thinking. Especially now, as modern society lifts us above the rawer realities of living, offering a more abstract experience of our dependence on environment, community and commonly held ideas. So much seems hidden and remote, whether we talk of economics, culture or technology.

What I mean by that is that meanings seem concealed below the surface. All we do still has an impact on the planet, social environment, and the collective realities we sustain. We can uncover the consequences of our attitudes and actions if we wish to, and those that do often attempt to raise awareness around their particular cause.

Within that picture, do individuals and their actions matter? Is human life of absolute value or is that relative to where we live, what we own, how we look? Is there common ground to our existence or are we destined to disagree?

Our interconnected systems surely rely upon a system of thought and depend upon our collective involvement. Those systems contain within them a sense of human worth and of what’s important, essential or justifiable. To look at culture, do we agree with the messages it sends and the pictures it places within our imaginations? And what options are open to us if we don’t like where things are headed?

Some might labour under the realities they’re placed within; some may throw themselves into trying to make things better (for themselves, others, or the system as a whole); and some could feel the whole thing is mistaken and opt out through resignation, escapism, or more extreme alternatives.

And what ideas are we being offered? On one side there’s this picture of efficiency, profit and human redundancy; yet others cry out for human values, social cohesion and environmental wisdom (Notes Three). Is there a common vision there and, if not, could we find one and can it be built?

Getting back to the original question, surely we are intelligent creatures capable of understanding the systems we exist within, how they arose, and where they’re likely to lead. We can know in thought the realities we’re living. That thinking might tie us in knots at times or lead us into difficult places, but it’s also what makes us human.

While we might despair at the lack of humanity or meaning evident in our times, that itself seems an important message concerning the need to build our systems around the right values and create a collective conversation that better sustains what’s truly essential in life.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Reality as a sense check
Note 1: Mental health relative to modern times
Note 2: Education’s place within society
Note 2: Morality and modern thought
Note 3: Anger as a voice
Note 3: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves
Note 3: People wanting change

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Spiritually committed literature

With literature, it seems reasonably valid to separate off what might be termed as modern fables: stories that speak of the mystery of life and our sense of personal destiny; exploring the mythology of self as a being that dreams and seeks a path of truth and meaning within the everyday.

I’m thinking of people like Richard Bach or Paulo Coelho among others. Writers who touch upon these inner spaces of faith or hope or magical thinking where so many try to find purpose and meaning for their lives through a sense of existence containing reason and our personal realities forming part of that bigger picture. Stories of everyday heroes, where individual struggles carry wisdom and actions make a difference.

Bach’s tale of a seagull seeking to be all it can be, believing there’s more to life than the traditions of the flock is one such example. The choice between following the ideas of those around you and silencing your inner voice: “He felt better for his decision to be just another one of the flock. There would be no ties now to the force that had driven him to learn, there would be no more challenge and no more failure.”

Which is similar to Coelho’s Alchemist: “you are trying to realize your destiny. And you are at the point where you’re about to give it all up.” Pictures of a life full of inner mystery, omens, following your heart, and learning from the wisdom of your life and from interactions with others. Essentially, coming to trust yourself and walk your own path.

Or there’s The Little Prince with “here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” A book offering a re-evaluation of life, of what matters, of how we see things, and the important relationships of feeling and meaning we create.

Building on that idea of personal perspective, Bach’s “Hypnotizing Maria” investigates ways belief governs experiences: “How do we become part of any culture, any form of life, save by accepting its suggestions to be our truth?” It’s a more unsettling book, as it attempts to separate the self from the thoughts we hold as true; but seems valuable for doing so.

Mitch Albom’s writings also fit here, as he explores those encounters that shape us and our ideas; casting an eye over life to see what might really matter at the end of the day, and whether it’s the hidden and unappreciated things that truly changed our lives.

Within modern culture, these books stand out as seeking something more. Historically, culture seems to have offered such wisdom yet now acts slightly differently (Notes One); so where can we find greater meaning for life? There’s spirituality itself (Notes Two), then the stories we receive through culture and society; where, at times, ideas on life merge with fiction to ask what it might mean to move beyond our belief in limitations.

Notes and References:

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach, (Turnstone Press, UK), 1972

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, (HarperCollins, UK), 1995 (originally 1988)

“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, (Penguin Books, UK), 1971 (originally 1945)

“Hypnotizing Maria” by Richard Bach, (Hampton Roads, USA), 2009

“The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom, (TimeWarner, UK), 2003

Note 1: The value of art in society
Note 1: How many aren’t well represented?
Note 2: Spirituality since the 80s
Note 2: The ideas of Eckhart Tolle

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Need to stand alone & think for ourselves

This topic very much underpins all I talk about here and seems so fundamental to how we live our lives: we might need others, value their ideas, and enjoy their company but ultimately we must make our own decisions as we have to live by them.

These days so much effort is seemingly being made to shape our opinions and actions; whether in politics, lifestyle or consumer behaviour. There’s this flood of information, reaction, persuasion, and distraction that at times makes it hard to know which way to turn or what truly matters. But we do need to craft a response, because our words and actions impact all those around us.

And, in terms of winning people over, surely if certain views are correct then a conversation would be more respectful than an argument, as it leaves others free to assimilate a wider perspective that may then shift their conclusions (see Notes One). The idea of defeating someone with truth makes very little sense to me.

At some point, I encountered a definition of values that suggested they must be freely chosen, understood, cherished, defended, and acted upon. If that’s the level of inner engagement that leads to someone standing firmly with their ideas, then leaning on others or accepting their thoughts after having been beaten round the head with them doesn’t equate in my eyes.

We live in highly complicated and fast moving times where so much is shifting, so many ideas and ways of being are changing hands, and so much that offered stability or security is being stripped away. That flood of information mentioned earlier is now fairly constant, and also abstract: what can we do with these things we now know about?

Yet, in the face of all that – both the modern way of life and the waves of information accompanying it – we somehow have to find our way forwards. Do we think and act as those near us do? Do we argue with anyone who chose a different path? Or can we trust our own understanding, while retaining an open mind for the bigger picture?

For me, that last option seems strongest: to think for yourself, but listen to others. It really seems we need to find a degree of solid ground with regard to understanding the world, the information we’re presented, and the extent we can be sure of having reached our best estimation of the truth. Reality must be astoundingly complex, but I feel we can grasp enough of it to develop informed, independent ideas while bearing in mind they may not be completely right and we will likely need to alter them.

I’m not entirely convinced that’s currently being cultivated through our cultural life or social structures (Notes Two); but, given its importance for democratic and lifestyle choices, hopefully things can develop to the point where we’re all able to share our thoughts, change those we see as mistaken or incomplete, and base our lives on the firmest wisdom we can find.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Communication and the process of change
Note 1: Does truth speak for itself?
Note 2: Individual responsibility, collective standards
Note 2: Age, politics and human reasoning
Note 2: Media and responsibility
Note 2: Education’s place within society

The Change & Communication theme page also takes a broader overview of the ideas touched upon here.

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History as a process of changes

In many ways, history is a vast and elusive subject: a seemingly endless flow of time we may try to come to grips with, drawing out the threads to understand how exactly we got to where we are; countless generations, cultures and individuals who made their way through life and left some kind of mark. Does that help us live our own lives?

With education, it seems it’s hard to do justice to history. How can vast arcs of time be conveyed to young minds so they become meaningful and alive? It’s easier to focus on a distinct period or key facts, but seeing how that sits and relates to everything around it is so much harder to get at. We might draw out a single thread and try to see how that’s woven through time, but doing so may distort its importance or oversimplify the paths toward change.

It takes imagination and effort to put ourselves in the shoes of other people in other times, to try and see how things looked through their eyes. And while modern historical retellings might help us visualise and relate in that way, can we be confident in the truth of these powerful and compelling stories? They often seem to place a modern way of being into a very different time, assuming the human mind itself hasn’t been changed by the process (see Note One).

It really does seem that we shape the world, which in turn shapes us by what’s been created: the ideas of individuals and civilisations serving those coming next (Notes Two). For me, history is very much this picture of a chain of events and discoveries that inform what follows; although sometimes lying dormant for a while, to be picked up again later. People living then must’ve been influenced by ideas and the systems they give rise to, all shaping what they then passed onto others.

Connecting all that with modern times: does it matter? Does it matter if we don’t fully understand our history, but focus instead on a few of the lessons it offers? Is it sufficient to detach ourselves from the weight of the past and self-confidently move forward with the ideas left in our hands and a loose sense of history as portrayed through modern culture or learning? Is that all we really need?

Personally, it seems important to understand what’s passed before and what we’re left with in order that we make wise choices about what comes next. History’s main teaching must be that things change, and we seem in the slightly unique position of being aware of that: we’ve conquered the world; connected its diverse cultures; explored its artefacts; and drawn together the vast wealth of history and the wisdom it offers.

That’s undoubtedly a lot of information to hold in mind, and a weighty inheritance in terms of the power now placed in our hands (Notes Three); which leaves us with the question of how we might best rise to the challenge.

Notes and References:

Note 1: “Ecological Intelligence”
Note 2: Writings on Education
Note 2: Education’s place within society
Note 3: Trying to understand our times
Note 3: Globalised society finding its feet

Then there’s People wanting change which spoke a little of how we might place ourselves within the processes of change.

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Anger as a voice

This post leads on from talk of activism and change, as well as forming part of a broader conversation around communication (see Notes One); essentially asking how valuable and productive anger is in the various areas of life.

Often these days it seems we revert to anger in personal, social or political relationships, seeing it as a valid response to the things that are happening. And, of course, there are many times that may very well be justified: people are often treated badly by others and by our collective attitudes and systems. But is it a good path? Does it achieve what we’d like it to, or could we reframe this and develop more helpful alternatives?

It’s a vast and fascinating topic: we could talk of personal anger when our values or rights aren’t respected; of collective anger at social trends and injustices; of anger as a way of communicating our standards and ideals; or as a general attitude in how we meet the world. I suppose anger tells us when something important to us has been trampled on or might be; we react to defend what we see as precious. So it’s a valuable emotion that must have its place in social dialogue.

But then it can also be a reaction that derails conversation by creating almost insurmountable obstacles. We might be completely justified in our anger from a certain perspective, but does expressing it actually serve our purposes? Anger shows we care, deeply, but also sends ripples through our social environment that can make difficult topics even harder to approach. Like a fiery wall of indignation that’s hard to work around.

Then there’s the question of where our anger should be directed. In terms of protest and social change, are we fighting one another; fighting those in positions of authority; or fighting systemic ideas we disagree with? I would’ve thought that focussing our emotions in slightly the wrong place might make enemies out of potential allies and leave respectful cooperation an even remoter possibility.

Whatever the scenario, we can draw on imagery of protest, activism and battlegrounds or look to the quieter resistance of various civil rights movements. But, beyond that, is there space for an articulate middle ground of conscious engagement and empowerment? Of being aware what battles we’re all fighting and where the true enemy lies? Rather than seeing almost everyone as an opponent, is there a space for calmer communication and cohesion?

So, going back to anger itself, it really seems such an important emotion on many levels: highlighting our boundaries and ideals with this powerful feeling for how things could and should be different. It tells us that these things matter; but does that also make it the best way to manage them? Is it an ideal and constructive response? Or might it be wiser to gain a fuller picture of what our anger is, where it should be directed, and at what point it risks pushing others away through unnecessary and avoidable conflict.

Notes and References:

Note 1: People wanting change
Note 1: Talking through difficult topics
Note 1: How arguments avoid issues
Note 1: Does truth speak for itself?

The Change & Communication page also addresses these themes.

Ways to share this:

People wanting change

In many areas of life now people are trying to raise awareness and solve what they see to be the most pressing concerns of our times. Whether that’s environment, diet, health, capitalism and consumerism, inequality, intolerance, or whatever areas we’re recognising as problematic and trying to address. Which is great; but how’s it working out?

To jump right in, it often comes across as a battleground. I’ve heard talk of ‘expanding the bubble’: this picture of a bubble of awareness around an issue that can then be made to grow as we win people over. Which to my mind seems a little imperialistic; the idea of some people being right and others needing to be convinced they’re wrong. And the way it plays out often does seem combative in its language and tone (see Notes One).

Maybe it’s the right way to go about things, who’s to say really? It’s certainly a historical model for progress. And I’m pretty sure most people fighting for change truly believe in it and are acting of genuine concern for others and the wider world.

For me though, it risks being divisive and disempowering. Metaphors of battle surely lead us to view others as opponents whose ignorance we see as wilful rather than as people acting in ways that seem reasonable and acceptable given the ideas they’ve encountered in life (Notes Two). I honestly believe there’s more to human life than logic; as what appears right to us and paths that seem effective are often complex and deeply woven into our ways of being. Why should anger, logic and social coercion be able to dislodge that?

So I wonder if the picture’s not more one of ‘piercing the bubble’: of these centres of awareness being called upon to articulate themselves in a wider space; taking that existing strength of focus and modelling it freely and inclusively to others (Note Three). Because fighting and defeating people over ideas must leave them vanquished, rather than as people having realised something for themselves and come to believe in both the importance of their actions and the value of their involvement in the process of change.

I would’ve thought that offering up an experience of awareness and transformation leaves others free to listen, weigh things up and choose a similar path if they see the truth and value in it. And it may not be that these people form a frontline so much as intelligently, compassionately and humanly giving a voice to such ideas wherever they find themselves.

While it can seem we’re alone and facing an uphill struggle, I genuinely have faith that many others are also working to transform our systems into something more human. And – while I’m not interested in winning others over to my views – I do believe in the power of ideas and in empowering people to think for themselves; also that we do all want a more humane and fairer society, if we can only see a way to create it together.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Why seek a single truth?
Note 1: How arguments avoid issues
Note 1: Talking through difficult topics
Note 2: Communication and the process of change
Note 2: Modern activism in practice
Note 3: Does truth speak for itself?

Also, Writings on Education which talks more widely about the path of humanity, the ideas we hold, and how that shapes things.

Ways to share this:

“Brave New World Revisited”

“However elegant and memorable, brevity can never, in the nature of things, do justice to all the facts of a complex situation.” Instead, we might “learn to concentrate upon the essentials of a situation, but without ignoring too many of reality’s qualifying side-issues” so we “may be able to tell not indeed the whole truth … but considerably more than the dangerous quarter-truths and half-truths which have always been the current coin of thought.”

There are relatively few books I consider as universally valuable as “Brave New World Revisited” by Aldous Huxley; possibly because, while an extremely astute observer of civilisation, he chose to offer up questions rather than neatly satisfying conclusions. His 1958 reflections on his 1932 dystopian fiction are fascinatingly insightful; but, then as now, solutions are up to us.

So much in this concise, intelligent, and beautifully readable text is incredibly pertinent to situations we’re now finding ourselves in: ideas on the health of society and its mental impacts; on methods of persuasion and social control; on lessons from history, crowd mentality and use of language; and on challenges to democracy.

That last point is something discussed elsewhere (Notes One), but worth revisiting. Huxley speaks of how logic serves us well in some areas but less so with politics, religion or ethics as the meaning of facts “depends upon the particular system of ideas in terms of which you choose to interpret them” (see also, Notes Two). Essentially, facts and truths are more interconnected and complicated than may appear on the surface; so “all that is in our power is to be as truthful and rational as circumstances permit us to be, and to respond as well as we can to the limited truth and imperfect reasonings offered for our consideration by others”.

Discussion then turns to knowledge as an important foundation for society as “only the vigilant can maintain their liberties, and only those who are constantly and intelligently on the spot can hope to govern themselves effectively by democratic procedures.” A difficult necessity in the face of “non-stop distractions which, in the West, are now threatening to drown in a sea of irrelevance the rational propaganda essential to the maintenance of individual liberty and the survival of democratic institutions”.

If our system “depends on the ability of large numbers of people to make realistic choices in the light of adequate information” then the ways our thinking and natural cultural rituals, symbols and meanings are undermined by media and advertising must surely weaken our ability to interact wisely with life. As “what is demonstrably good in the sphere of economics may be far from good for men and women as voters or even as human beings”.

The main signposts offered are “education for freedom” plus an increased awareness and organisation around what really matters. Many beautiful values underpin our way of life, one of the most significant possibly being freedom; so doing what’s needed to maintain and defend that seems a profound challenge for our times.

Notes and References:

“Brave New World Revisited” by Aldous Huxley, (Random House, London), 2004 (originally 1958).

Note 1: Media within democratic society
Note 1: “Manufacturing Consent”
Note 2: “Education’s End”
Note 2: Writings on Education

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The business of spiritual ideas

With almost any area of human activity these days there’s a sense of “how can this be made profitable?” Maybe that’s because tech opens the doors to vast markets and opportunities, which business models and entrepreneurs then race to capitalise on. Or maybe there’s a natural logic of turning any given activity into a business. Whatever the causes, this commercialisation seems a particular challenge in the realm of spirituality.

Whereas economic interests used to be more centrally organised, now all we do can be monetised through advertising, paywalls, online sales, contributions, crowdfunding and the like. It’s something that’s affecting our lives in countless ways, as natural behaviours often get replaced by commercial enterprise (see Notes One).

It seems a natural progression: our tools change and we seek new ways to contribute and also turn things to our advantage. With an economy largely reshaped by technology, it makes sense for money as this unit of transaction to feature largely in evolving business models. But while it may be understandable for everything to come down to money, it’s not entirely neutral.

I’ve spoken elsewhere about the influence of money over artistic work (Note Two), which is another area where this seems problematic. Art, to my mind, serves an important human purpose as this act of reflection and meaning; yet when money gets involved that may subtly change the nature of what’s offered in that timeless cultural exchange.

Similarly, money can raise its head quite fiercely in spiritual endeavours. As those inclined to offer insight, encouragement or guidance seek a place in the modern economy there’s often a degree of resistance to individuals becoming wealthy or running businesses off the innate needs of others. It’s a problem with a history running all the way back to medieval indulgences, peppered in more recent times by self-help gurus.

That’s not to say this is always a problem: many people in this field seem to have something valuable to offer in helping others improve their lives. There’s clearly a desire for self-development and a genuine call for techniques to manage modern life, whether that’s the outlook suggested by Eckhart Tolle or recent trends towards mindfulness (Notes Three). But the dynamics of the marketplace must shape what’s offered, as well as effectively making certain insights unavailable to those without money to spare.

It’s more something that intrigues me: how, as human beings, we seek meaning whether that’s through art, spiritual development, or cultural experiences. These seem to be activities that can bind us together, lift us above our everyday lives, and make those lives worth living. The extent to which it’s acceptable to charge for that or set yourself apart as some kind of leader may be a perennial question.

Ultimately, we must all find our own way with such ethical decisions. It’s an imperfect system, but if people truly mean well in what they offer and how they do so then maybe their messages can stand the test and serve to meet this demand for meaning.

Notes and References:

Note 1: The challenge of community
Note 1: Values and the economic
Note 2: Art, collaboration & commodification
Note 3: Mindfulness, antidote to life or way of being
Note 3: The ideas of Eckhart Tolle

Then there’s The motivation of money which looked more generally at money as a concept and an influence.

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Fashion, self & environment

At times I’ve spoken about culture, economics, sustainability, social identity, and self-worth; about how the things we do impact our social and natural environment (see Notes One). The space where human ideas meets the realities we create together is fascinating; and fashion seems one of the places that more obviously happens.

Fundamentally, we need clothing and – being such a visual part of life – that becomes something to set us apart and provide identity; offering a chance to express who we feel ourselves to be and how we want to be seen. As social, creative beings wanting to communicate and move forward, it makes sense for fashion to become this focus of attention, status and innovation. That picture of a progressive yet tribal psychology guiding human society.

But this does have undeniable environmental, social, psychological and economic impacts. The very fact it has such a central role in our sense of culture and self-esteem must give it a certain business appeal: the constant desire for self-expression and creativity surely fuels large parts of the fashion and beauty industries.

With that almost insatiable demand come these realities of limited environmental resources; business models often involving a degree of exploitation; pollution and waste in both producer and consumer behaviour; the visual and psychological ripples felt from advertising; then the social realities of exclusivity, status, economic power, and cultural worth.

As with so much in life, simple human realities are creating massive impacts; especially now this ‘way of life’ has become extremely organised and profitable. All of that is hard to quantify and grasp, but projects such as “The True Cost” documentary serve to pull together many of these threads with the aim of creating the awareness to shift behaviour.

These areas of life where genuine and important impacts are largely invisible and the industries behind them seem to be meeting essential human needs are challenging to face up to. It takes effort, imagination, compassion and responsibility to “see” those impacts; and something even greater to then let that understanding alter our behaviour. In that regard, it’s akin to the food industry and, more widely, to our social constructs.

Image, fashion, diet, and lifestyle form part of our collective social and cultural lives; they’re the ways we seek to create meaning, share our everyday experiences, and forge social relationships. Which is maybe why such problems truly are challenging: these are important parts of life, but the way we’re going about things is causing pretty undeniable and serious consequences.

With any solutions in life, it seems we either wait for something to be imposed or we create change ourselves. It’s undoubtedly hard to step back, take the time to fully understand, and decide what to be a part of even when the weight of social pressure beckons us to go with the flow. As humans, we may naturally want to belong, participate, and not rock the boat; but we’re also capable of making up our own minds and, thereby, of serving to shape our future.

Notes and References:

Note 1: What do we see in beauty?
Note 1: Intrinsic worth over social identity
Note 1: Complicity and cultural attitudes
Note 1: Is sustainable design an impossibility?
Note 1: How many things are cycles (we could break)

Ways to share this: