Only a moron...
"Only an unthinking, naive and semi-conscious moron would ridicule the idea that the plants that we surround ourselves with matter. We can humanize our landscapes or we can create bleak, soul-crushing shitholes that make us want to escape our own environments with pills, porn, booze, or other forms of escapism. Like rats in the famous “Rat Park Experiment” conducted by Psychologist Bruce Alexander in the 1970s, when our lives feel meaningless, empty and devoid of a feeling of place or belonging, we self-medicate. Who can blame us. Likewise, when humans are removed from the living world that birthed us into being, we search for other facets of existence to cling to and use to fill the void that's been created within us.
Having a relationship with the living world around us makes us feel complete. It’s not everything - it’s not going to cure cancer or end our stupid religious wars - but it willi undoubtedly take our collective human angst down a few notches.
Creating a living tapestry of (mostly native) plant life around us feeds into our dopamine and serotonin receptors. Our lives, our cultures and our collective intellect as humans thrives in places that nurture us, in places that are alive."
Barry Dopawoski, Insurance Agent and Claims Adjuster, Elmwood Park, Illinois
