Embodying Language : Plant People Communication
Friday, May 23, 2008 written by Delvin Solkinson
photos by Poxin : www.poxin.org
"Come live, live
in the mountains!"
little birds call
- issa
The language of our world is certainly not human. The whole earth ecology has many languages which are expressed through the vast diversity of life it brings forthe. One such rich language of life is communicated by plants. Indeed plants are messengers of the planet. Most people don't take the time to learn the language of plants and their stories and songs all too often go unnoticed. This separation between the human and non-human world is causing all sorts of problems as humans toxify the biosphere without developing an awareness of the real impact this has on our world and without understanding how this will also have dire and unhealthy consequences for humans as well. It is key that the bridge be rebuilt between culture and nature and that the language of plants be learned by people.
Plant people who take the time to learn the subtle language of plants may come to understand the implicate intelligence of nature through these amazing creations. These people are important bridges linking nature and culture, keys in addressing the growing ecological crisis caused by human folly. Connecting communications between the human and more-than-human world, plant people hold keys to the harmonization of Earth's ecology.
Plants have a very physical language, they don't speak with words but with their whole being. In this way plants are their language, everything about them is a communication. Their lexicon is physical and thus their language clearer and less nuanced with multiple meanings then our porous human languages. Plants communicate with their color; bright and vibrant or dull and faded. They communicate with their texture; smooth and healthy or wrinkled and dry. The way plants respond to stimuli, their vulnerability to pests or resistance to them, their growth patterns, all are rich communications. If you form long term relationships with plants you will notice that the size and taste of their fruit, the smell of their flowers and they success they have in reproducing are also ways in which they communicate. These communications are about the experience of the plants, they contain information about the climate, soil, temperature, available nutrients and all other conditions of life. Though plants may not have feelings like humans do, since we have only our emotion laden human language to describe the non-human world, one might say that their communications can tell you if they are happy or sad, hungry or full, warm or cold, thirsty or waterlogged, nourished or undernourished, healthy or sick, loved or unloved.
In this way plants want to communicate, they want to be heard and acknowledged. Their message is of vital importance, it is the message about what is happening on our planet, the threat that faces all life and the importance of change the way the human world relates to the non-human world it is inextricably connected to.
Re:Sources :
Secret Life of Plants - by Peter Thompson
The Lost Language of Plants - Stephen Buhner
The Secret Language of Life - by Brian Ford
http://www.rhs.org.uk/index.htm
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
http://www.rudolfsteinerweb.com/