Saturday, July 3, 2010

Do gardens feel?

I was listening to a podcast about happiness today that was discussing various nuances of happiness: ease, peace, joy, ..., I got to thinking that many of these or their antitheses could be applied to a garden -- at least by analogy.
What other emotions might we extend to a garden?
  • Affection
  • Anger, Annoyance, Angst, Apathy, Anxiety
  • Contempt, Curiosity
  • Depression, Desire, Despair, Disappointment, Disgust
  • Ecstasy, Empathy, Envy, Embarrassment, Euphoria
  • Fear, Frustration
  • Gratitude, Grief, Guilt
  • Happiness, Hatred, Hope, Horror, Hostility, Hysteria
  • Interest, Jealousy
  • Loathing, Love, Lust
  • Misery, Pity, Pride
  • Rage, Regret, Remorse
  • Sadness, Shame, Suffering, Surprise
  • Wonder, Worry
I am not suggesting that there are literally emotions, but rather that asking the question "what is my garden feeling right now?" Might lead to a helpful line of thinking. Some of them don't really seem likely -- when would a garden feel rage? I hope I never find out. ;-)

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