It's a beautiful world. There are many wonderful things in it. Moments to be treasured. Experiences to be shared with those who mean the most to us.
We all strive to be happy in our own way. Deep inside we all want a good life. And we like others to see that we are doing well as much as we like to see them doing well too.
However in this world, there is also a social veneer. Our desire to appear to be happy and successful can lead us to pull a curtain over the less desirable aspects of this world and our day to day lives.
When we pull back this curtain, as we all do sometimes, we can see a different story. There are times, in moments of honest conversation, that people can tell you stories that make you want to weep.
Violence, anxiety, depression, loneliness, loss, overwhelm, the list goes on...
It seems that no one's life is fully free of misery. But we do our best to have a positive attitude, keep our chin up and look forward to a better tomorrow.
“A garden is a means to enjoy better living.”
The Ancient Greeks had a word: therapeia, which means "curing," "healing" or "service done to the sick". It also encompassed the idea of attending to someone's needs.
The therapy we'd like to discuss in this article, is under the banner of 'Natural or Enviro Therapy', and how it relates to improving mental health.
Now there are many different ways for each of us to enjoy some form of therapy that leads us to a better life, where we feel more happiness.
Some will take up yoga. Others will improve their body health by better eating. Some find solace in their religion, while others take up hobbies like hiking.
And of course, there are always those forms of direct therapy where you talk with someone to find the source of your problems to alleviate them. All are valid to the degree they work for you.
Then there is the garden. A natural form of therapy we want to talk about in this article.
For a minute let's talk about you, just you.
We all have many moments in our lives that are filled with pleasure. Coffee with your best friend. Watching your child shoot a hoop or simply the delight of reading a good book.
Your mental state is influenced by these pleasurable moments that lift you up emotionally toward a a better mood, a better state of mind.
Then we all have those hidden or known sources of misery. Perhaps you are aware of something that happened in the past that still affects you, like the loss of someone close. Perhaps you suffer bouts of depression and are unaware of it's true source, yet you suffer from its affliction and feel incapable of deflecting it. Misery can come in many forms and affect us to varying degrees.
Of all the valid therapies in this world, there is one that can be both simple and yet very effective. One that doesn't take a great deal of effort on your behalf. It's called simply 'Observation'.
It works like this:
Find somewhere comfortable to sit in your garden. Alternatively if your garden is larger perhaps a walk through it may be more beneficial. And all you want to do is LOOK! But keep looking until you notice something you never noticed before.
As you gaze upon the beauty of your garden and begin to see what's there, you will find your attention being slowly more focussed on the outside world rather than your inner thoughts. You will find that pleasure can start taking the place of the unwanted emotions you may have been experiencing just a few moments ago.
As you continue to look around you, you will start to notice more and more. "Oh look, the iris bulbs are popping out from under the salvia bush." You begin to watch the honeyeater collecting nectar and find yourself paused briefly to watch it performing acrobatics amongst the branches. Or maybe a butterfly drifts over you and you watch its dancing movements across the garden.
Sitting in a garden and observing can be one of the simplest forms of therapy imaginable. One that can quite literally transform your emotional state in just a few moments. It doesn't require much effort to look. However, the benefit you feel can last all day, or even beyond.
Observe your surroundings and see what joy you can find in them.
Have you ever experienced a sense of disconnection at times within your family? You talk, but it is hardly an illuminating conversation. "How was your day?" "Good... How was yours?" It's not uncommon for families and marriages to fall into ruts like this.
But here's the thing. The very same garden that transformed your individual emotional state, can do the same for others. And when you do this, you can notice a change in connection and conversation.
I experienced this a while ago with my 13-year-old daughter going through what I have since found out is a common teenage 'hostile' phase. (Many parents reading this will nod and say "Oh yes, we went through all that.")
During a European family holiday, I would go to take a picture, only to see a frown each time. On one excursion, we went to a lovely garden in Ireland. Sadly, my kids are not interested in gardens, though on this occasion they didn't seem to mind visiting this one. Below you will see an image I took of my wife and kids, relaxing and resting. You will see they are deep in conversation. It was our walk through the garden that allowed this conversation to open up and smiles to appear.
The beauty of creating a garden for your family is, you can tailor it to perform many functions that will bring everyone together.
Adding a pool is certainly a hit with kids. Adding a basketball court encourages activity. Having a fire pit extends the evening use, and the must-have marshmallows will be popular. Of course, having both cooking & dining outside can create a connection within the family.
Adding these functional aspects can provide the right ingredients to create moments where the family come together in shared experiences.
But there is another ingredient in a garden, different to its function, yet just as powerful. Aesthetics! By garden aesthetics, we mean beauty, quality, artistic creation and meaning, to name a few elements.
You don't have to love plants to be transformed by their beauty. In fact, you could sit in a garden and not be able to name one plant, yet still admire and feel elevated by your surroundings. Part of the role of our landscape architect is the creation of a garden that allows you to bathe in beauty. So yes, even our kids can be affected without realising it.
Social gatherings can take many forms. Dining out with friends at a lovely restaurant. Going to a sporting event or concert. Or going away together on holiday.
A garden is different. It allows for a much more intimate setting where people feel at ease and conversation flows naturally. While all of the things above are wonderful, relaxing at home in your own garden has a very different feeling.
Can you remember a rewarding summer evening spent outside in a garden with friends? The satisfaction of having shared a great conversation, creating moments you may reflect upon at some later date. Enviro therapy in its simplest terms, is about elevating your happiness in life, so naturally social gatherings bring many benefits. Sharing with others takes your attention away from yourself, and any unwanted emotions you might be feeling and puts your attention on external things, like the activities around you.
A simple coffee catch-up with a frend can feel like a breath of fresh air in a seemingly stale existence. Cooking burgers on the BBQ for some mates can elicit appreciation, which itself is an excellent tonic for any negative emotional state we might be in. Who doesn't like being appreciated?
Social gatherings can be a real catalyst for emotional change. They play such an important role in our lives. And there's nothing like a beautiful garden in which to enjoy them.
Going away on a holiday is a wonderful activity that definitely classifies as Enviro Therapy. However, it can come with a hefty price tag and is usually infrequent.
But a garden is literally a holiday at your back doorstep and can be available, weather permitting, 365 days of the year.
If you were to look at all the things you could add to your life to elevate your mood, a lovely, well-designed garden would certainly rank up there as a valid way to achieve this.
Landscape architects and landscape designers create gardens as a haven for the soul and a place for connection. The landscaper's role is to build the gardens they design with all the aesthetic qualities that will ensure they are long admired.
It's the home-owners' role - your role - to dream the dream that the designer can bring to life.
Feel like adding a little 'Enviro-therapy' to your life? Have a conversation starter with us about what you'd love to accomplish with a garden. Let the ideas start to flow and see where it leads...
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