Cultivating, creating, generating, and building.
Daylight soaked through the window by my shoulder. With a book laying open in my lap, I looked up to watch the neighborhood dogs take their humans for morning walks.
On their way to the snowy fields of the park across the street, sometimes they trot through my neighbor's garden to get there—the dogs, not the people. Not usually, anyway. I cracked a smile and took a deep breath. It seems a steaming mug of mint tea and the reading chair by my office window are enough to gently, but thoroughly, destabilize my worldview. I love it when that happens.
My grandmother, the extraordinary gardener that she is, would be so annoyed. My mom would, too, for that matter. I felt myself smirk as I watched, picturing their horrified reactions. Livid faces popped into my head, both wearing the kind of expressions that show up when trying to comprehend the audacity of someone else's... unique... thinking. That; that's the part I'd find funny. But only because I know I wear the same expression from time to time and that's probably where I get it from.
I'd never really been much of a gardener, but I guess that changed a couple of years ago when I got a few houseplants to try and boost my mood. Turning in my chair, I looked over at a nearby orchid. It's one of a couple that I currently have, the beneficiary of a steep learning curve and some not-as-fortunate predecessors.
Thanks to the book in my lap, I was thinking about how there's a pretty big difference between pouring concrete and planting a garden. It feels obvious, but I found myself surprised by how blurry the line can actually be.
In The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, there's a culture that causes a character confusion with its social norms. For this group of people, farmers are revered as the richest among their social hierarchy. The explanation given, is admiration for "those who add." People who cultivate, create, build, generate in ways that benefit others are seen as the model. They even make a distinction between redistributing what's already been created and net-new contribution.
I've been thinking about it all day.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
134/365
When's the last time someone made you re-think social norms or challenged your worldview?
onward.
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