The mindfulness of falling leaves
Dear readers,
This week I have something slightly more mindful for you. I have been paying attention to falling leaves where I live and I wanted to share a few things I learned to appreciate about two particular species of trees. One tree even inspired me to write a short story about how it feels to be a falling leaf.
Ginkgo biloba
Ever since I listened to John Green talking about Ginkgo biloba on his podcast Anthropocene Reviewed, I started paying attention to the unusual beauty of Ginkgo's leaves:
--Their color in fall is uniquely a very shy yellow, not as vibrant and mixed as other trees, which makes them seem so elegant and mysterious. I tried to capture exactly that color in this drawing.
--Their veins are fan-shaped, they never form a network like in other trees. This is unique among seed plants (I checked this on Wikipedia).
--Ginkgo's extract is used for supplements helping with concentration and focus, which sounds amazing for us ADHDers😁 I don't know of any other trees around me that can do that! (But Wikipedia says the efficacy of Ginkgo in this field has not been scientifically proven🤷♀️, didn’t have time to check scientific articles myself.)
Persian ironwood
A different kind of leaf, more vibrant and bold, inspired me to write a short story about how it feels to be a falling leaf: What if you knew you were going to die just because the season is changing? Where do we find meaning, leaves and humans alike? You can read my story here: A Story About a Worried Leaf.
Thank you for reading! If you liked this, like, comment, share, talk about it, think about it…
May the falling leaves inspire you too,
Ana
I am a retired, but still active scientist and I have carefully examined meta analyses of mindfulness meditation for years and Ifind no evidence of any advantage over taking walks in the woods, especially when clearing my mind after a couple of hours of writing. I am fortunate to have an Arts Woods in my borough outside of Philadelphia where artists left a plasticine warthog and other magical things.
Great article, if you are too distractible like me to sit still and practice mindfulness regularly, just go lose yourself in the woods, science says it is ok.