Aspects of life can be superficial or aspects of life can be deep. Deep is a synonym for meaningful. The art and science of gardening has had an ancient history of being a deep and meaningful part of human life.
Gandhi has said to forget to dig the earth is to forget ourselves. In the twilight of Thomas Jefferson’s life, he mused that although he was an old man, he was but a young gardener.
In an era of high technology and complicated lives, there are practical steps that humans can take that can nurture and aid our journey through life. Gardening is such a practical endeavor. Gardening can enrich the body and soul with nourishment and beauty.
Harvard’s Howard Gardner is a proponent of recognizing multiple intelligences. His theory notes well-accepted intelligences such as verbal and mathematical skills. Gardener has broadened his theory of multiple intelligences by adding an intelligence that embraces humanity’s connection to nature. He refers to this as naturalistic intelligence. Naturalistic intelligence refers to such important skills as the ability to appreciate and enjoy the natural world. Gardening is a way for all humans to practice this intelligence.
The term deep has been applied to the science of ecology. The central idea of Deep Ecology is that we are part of, rather than separate from, the earth. The Gaia Hypothesis states that the earth is alive and that we are part of it. The namesake for an important American city Chief Seattle said in 1854 “We are part of the earth and it is part of us.”
The term deep can also be applied to the art and science of gardening. Gardening is a meaningful activity that enriches the lives of humans.
The preeminent biologist EO Wilson has brought back sociologist Erich Fromm’s concept of biophilia. Biophilia is the love of life. This love of life can be practiced first hand by gardening.
Gardening gives us the ability to immerse ourselves in life in positive ways. Gardening is not only a metaphor for life it can also be an important part of life itself. Humans are cognitive and emotional beings. Gardening is both cognitively and emotional rewarding.
An important aspect of naturalistic intelligence is participation in the natural world. This participation can be as simple and as important as planting a seed and nurturing it through germination and maturation. Seeing things grow enhances our life experience. Jane Goodall’s recent book Seeds of Hope reinforces the connection humans have to plants. This connection runs deep and is an important part of our archetypal lives. Our connection to plants and their role as part of our life experience may be enmeshed in our genetic makeup.
Recipient of the Audobon Medal Richard Louv has written about Nature-Deficit Disorder. Other recipients include Rachel Carson and Robert Redford. Louv quotes the New York Times’ support of green proposals to memorialize the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center in as “ample proof of the power of landscape to transform a scarred and haunted place.”
Gardening is an activity that serves to deepen our life experience. All humans can participate in small or large ways. Plants can live with us in our houses. Our yards can contain a garden or be a garden. Many towns and schools are establishing community gardens as a way for people of all ages to participate in the value of gardening.
Aspects of life can be superficial or they can be deep and meaningful.
The concept of deep gardening entails the value and need to practice gardening. Humans are part of nature. We model ourselves when we model nature through gardening.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 375 new monthly donors in the next 6 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy