Do Flowers Get Lonely When We Pick Them?

I wonder if I’m some degree of evil for choosing not to avoid stepping on the ants as I walk along the pavement. In my head I say, “it’s only ants, they can’t feel anything”.....but can they? Not that I’m a total tree hugger or anything (regardless of the vibe this blog may give off) but I don’t let the kids I nanny break branches off from the trees, I go barefoot any excuse I can, and I could hardly see myself hunting for pleasure. Oh so maybe I am a hippie! Nonetheless, my most recent thought is, where do we draw the line on what is capable of feeling?

I sat stunned as I was watching a big black spider spinning its web as another spider swooped in, challenged him to battle, and pushed him off his silk tightrope. I immediately started researching whether spiders feel feelings. My findings concluded that it's more of reactions they experience rather than feelings. From this search, I went down a rabbit hole and found that bees show hesitancy before making decisions, as if they’re thinking. They experience grief and mourning when their queen bee dies and can encounter depression. Whereas ants can only feel pleasant and unpleasant. So I suppose my stepping on them is unpleasant but at least their ant friends won’t be mourning.

Do flowers feel a kind of loss or loneliness when I cut them from their roots? My initial instinct immediately says no because a plant is not near as complex as a human. But then again they have such intricate ways of surviving and thriving that their delicacy almost makes them more complex. My roommate reads a book about trees. We were up late discussing plant intelligence and how trees can talk through mycorrhizal networks to warn other trees of insect attacks or share resources to less flourishing trees. 

How scientists know all of this is beyond me and I don’t know how much longer I can just “leave it up to the scientists.” I may never know whether the grass enjoys my toes interlaced between its blades or if it's hurting them. Yet my curiosity has directed me to approach nature with more mindfulness and respect. There are so many different cultures and spiritual beliefs around the sacredness of living things. I don’t know where I lie in the realm of spirituality but I do believe there is a responsibility to at least respect, if not understand the life we interact with. It’s less about finding the answers and more about exploring and reflecting on how we choose to connect with the living world around us. I believe in sunshine, moon, and monkey in the name of the ocean, soil, and sunshine, Amen.

Journal entries to take home:

Do you think trees gossip about the wind? Do you have a sense of connection to your surroundings in the way that plants and bugs do? 

Dedicated to Bianca for furthering my thoughts on monkey and the moon

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/1aca2c_c2866fb10afe443f84eaaa24856ab867/480p/mp4/file.mp4

The ants feeling all types of pleasant^