I listened to an episode of Dr Rangan Chatterjee's "feel better live more" podcast tonight on the subject or awe, with Dr Dacher Keltner, . Like so many of Rangan's podcasts, it was very thought provoking and got me thinking about why I am so in awe of wild plant.
Dr Dacher describes awe as the "obscure, vast and mysterious". I guess these are the reasons all resonate with me when considering wild plants. They are obscure to us in our modern day at least because they are so unassuming, popping up everywhere but on their own terms. They're vast for the same reason. They are everywhere but not because we put them there. And they are mysterious because ... well... who did? Nobody. It just happened.
It's one of the things that fascinates me about our human centric view of the world. We often talk about planting a wildflower lawn. And sure if you want poppies and cornflower (which is totally legitimate by the way, I adore both) - then sow away. But you can also just do no mow may and the wild plants will be there. They just will.
And in the depths of the concrete jungle that dominates so many cities, you'll find a dandelion growing through a crack in the pavement. That's life. And that's awe. I mean you couldn't actively choose to plant it there (well perhaps you could, I've never tried!) but that's where it's landed and decided to be. And there's awe in that.
The photo accompanying this blog is a snapshot of a relatively early moment of awe in my journey of love of wild plants. This thistle - which to be honest I haven't identified - took my breath away. The photo was taken ten years ago, before I really started discovering and delving into wild plants. And while I had always been captivated by wild flowers, the stark beauty of this thistle just ... resonated with me. And of course the photo is over exposed but it captures how it made me feel. Raw. Crisp. And part of life. Even if it shows a plant going into seed, and dried to a crisp, there's something poetic and exuberant about it. And it's stuck with me always.
So I guess that's awe.
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