I don't know if I have monotropism, but I'm constantly going out to check on these three huge variegated grasses that I transplanted a month ago because, at seven feet, they were just too big for where I originally planted them. That was about 4 years ago, and to get the root mass out nearly required a small crane. So I always worry about transplants that big. But I made a lovely home for them, fixed the soil a bit, calculated for sun/shade in that spot, and I think they're going to make it. Every time I pull apart the brown stubs from last year, looking for green, Pam tells me they always come in late. I still keep peeking....
Oh david I so relate to this story - but wait, you moved those grasses all by yourself?! Those things, when they get entrenched are near impossible to dig up! But if I were a newly transplanted grass, I d want you checking on me every day! 😂 and I have absolutely done the same thing - checking every morning for the green - and telling myself they are always late. I’m glad yours are going to make it!
Everything you describe about yourself sounds beyond wonderful to me - the love, even obsession, for growing things; the desire to focus on the artistry and details of cooking; disliking large crowds. Are you unhappy to be that way? Maybe a lot of artists and people in recovery share some of those traits. Maybe our brains and bodies and nervous systems are wired differently. I think you're a delight.
You know, this whole multi-tasking thing... It's even listed as prequisites in job applications. Neuroscience tells us that multi-tasking is not all our society cracks it up to be. Go love your flowers. Give yourself to flow. Revel in it. I wonder how many of us actually have "Aversion to current societal expectations and demands syndrome"? (Yeah I made that up just now but I'm pretty sure I have it) I love Substack and learn from and engage with some wonderful people here. And...I'm ready to throw this whole technological world in the too hard basket and delight in nature as has always been my default.
You are wise Melanie, and I love the name of the syndrome you've coined - perfect! We're really so lucky to have nature to default to - just wish we could be in it more and more. And yeah, the multitasking thing is ridiculous. I am over it - ha! (And yes, Substack is so great for meeting like-minded people.)
I remember seeing a movie when I was about 15 and a quote stuck with me… “Society is mutating so fast that any one over the age of 25 is clueless”. 35 years later I’m thinking “Society has/is mutating so fast anyone UNDER 60 is clueless”. No offense to anyone. I just feel it’s time (for me at least) to say “Whoah Buddy, steady up. Steady up”, pull on the reigns and look around. I mean really look around and say “ What’s going on here? What is this madness”? And find my way back to the afternoon light on native grasses on the side of the hill where I sat as a child nurtured by nature as I tried to figure out what this whole life thing was about. One thing I know for sure, this thing Im holding in my hand right now is more if a thief than a gift.
Do NOT talk to me whilst I'm cooking! lol, I have that too. Maybe it's because cooking is my time to think of nothing else but the food I'm preparing, and that includes nothing about the days' news horrors. It's my time of complete peace. So talk to me later! :):):)
Phew, relieved to hear there are others in this boat - thank you for sharing that with me. And yes, it definitely is a focus that drives out all the crazy noise. Thanks Deborah!
You said it! So complicated - and they did not pass out instructions in the beginning! but yes, plenty of beauty - so much beauty, really. Thank you Diane.
I find it interesting that before I got to you using Dr. Google, from you description I thought maybe you have a touch of Asperger's. I am fairly certain I had ADHD but not to the point where I would get up in class, but instead I would stare out the window or get lost in thought.
My main point of interest was (and sort of still is) photography, and I could get lost in the zone too. I don't like large crowds mostly because I find it hard to hear with so many conversations happening at once. It's hard to drown out the noise. I'm curious, if you have to do something new, and it's something that you will do for some time, do you find you need to learn about it and then once you start you get good at it?
Anywho, welcome to the world of not being neuro-typical, it's must more interesting here and we have cookies!
thank you for the welcome, Lew (!) - I'm all in on the cookies! Yes, when I do something new, I generally do a deep dive in it and then stick with it until I've got it. Interesting to hear what you've observed and know about yourself. The photography helps a lot, I know (and you're good at it!). So we find our way, for sure.
I feel like we are on the cusp of understanding different brain workings and hopefully can move away from “disorders” as if one brain type is normal and every other one is broken and move towards understanding and accommodation. My brain absolutely cannot bear being stuck inside with no windows, but as you point out, wouldn’t anyone prefer to be outside (or at least by a window)? So maybe by accommodating that we’d all be happier?
There’s this wonderful book called “Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests” by Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger and one of the many things she taught me is that trees communicate via aerosols. And when they awake in the spring, they release a lot of these aerosols. And about half of them interact with the human brain as medicine, calming us down and creating that feeling of euphoria. So Spring Fever is a literal, measurable medicine from the trees. How cool is that???
I just ordered this from our rural library Interlibrary Loan program. We can get a book from anywhere and it's delivered on a Bookmobile to our tiny village. Thanks for the suggestion. Rings true for me.
I'm reading a collection of short stories by Native Americans and noting that many cite beliefs that stones and trees and plants and creatures are alive, and that the ancestors easily spoke with them. The title is Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories. I doubt the original people worried about being neurodivergent.
Kirie, my book list is getting longer thanks to you. (yay for substack and communicating like this!) Would love to read this. And agree with you and Heather that looking to Indigenous wisdom could really realign us.
Oh I love this and need to read that! I really do believe that the future is Indigenous. That indigenous peoples have figured this all out before us and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Maybe we don’t need our “boxes” as Susie says (though I too did the test and damn!) and just need to recover the knowledge that has been overwritten. Humans know how to accept different brain structures. Humans know how to respect elders. Humans know how to interact with the planet sustainably. We just need to listen to different humans.
Here here! Agree with you both and also very grateful for the book suggestions from you both. So interested that you took the questionnaire, Heather! But yes I think what you all are getting at is that none of this matters in terms of who we are compared to the next person - we are all different, unique, wonderful in our own ways.
Wow wow wow Heather, that is the coolest - about the aerosol from the trees. I am so fascinated by how trees communicate but did not know this - that we can absorb these and feel lighter and better. No wonder I have trouble staying inside!
Also I agree with you and probably should have not used "disorder" in my headline or elsewhere. I can't write knowledgeably about neurodiversity but I truly believe that like so many other things, there is a wide range of different functionality that should be appreciated. We do tend to love our boxes! (says she who took a "questionnaire" with a "score" and looked at "graphs") ack!
Thanks as always for your thoughtful input. And I know you are outside enjoying spring as it arrives!
Every time you mention that hoop house it makes me want one—just to visit and warm up in! I’m pretty much out of space though. This was an interesting post!
You could do a small/short one, Maria. Or maybe carve out an area inside the big garden for one? They truly are magical - some kind of endorphin thing there.
I love this. It is fascinating to notice differences in your own brain and to help yourself along by allowing your way to flourish. I too cannot chat and focus. When I have people over I get anxious if anyone asks to help. I have to pack for a trip and get the house ready to leave without talking. ADHD? Whatever. It does sound supremely serene to check on those seed trays, with focus.
Alice, I am glad to hear we share those traits, though, yes, who knows what it means? We do what we can to cope with the way we know we function I guess. And yes, it is truly calming (and awe inspiring) to watch the little seeds do their thing. As long as i've been doing this, I'm still tickled and amazed when a seed breaks open and sends up a little tiny shoot!
I don't know if I have monotropism, but I'm constantly going out to check on these three huge variegated grasses that I transplanted a month ago because, at seven feet, they were just too big for where I originally planted them. That was about 4 years ago, and to get the root mass out nearly required a small crane. So I always worry about transplants that big. But I made a lovely home for them, fixed the soil a bit, calculated for sun/shade in that spot, and I think they're going to make it. Every time I pull apart the brown stubs from last year, looking for green, Pam tells me they always come in late. I still keep peeking....
Oh david I so relate to this story - but wait, you moved those grasses all by yourself?! Those things, when they get entrenched are near impossible to dig up! But if I were a newly transplanted grass, I d want you checking on me every day! 😂 and I have absolutely done the same thing - checking every morning for the green - and telling myself they are always late. I’m glad yours are going to make it!
Everything you describe about yourself sounds beyond wonderful to me - the love, even obsession, for growing things; the desire to focus on the artistry and details of cooking; disliking large crowds. Are you unhappy to be that way? Maybe a lot of artists and people in recovery share some of those traits. Maybe our brains and bodies and nervous systems are wired differently. I think you're a delight.
You know, this whole multi-tasking thing... It's even listed as prequisites in job applications. Neuroscience tells us that multi-tasking is not all our society cracks it up to be. Go love your flowers. Give yourself to flow. Revel in it. I wonder how many of us actually have "Aversion to current societal expectations and demands syndrome"? (Yeah I made that up just now but I'm pretty sure I have it) I love Substack and learn from and engage with some wonderful people here. And...I'm ready to throw this whole technological world in the too hard basket and delight in nature as has always been my default.
You are wise Melanie, and I love the name of the syndrome you've coined - perfect! We're really so lucky to have nature to default to - just wish we could be in it more and more. And yeah, the multitasking thing is ridiculous. I am over it - ha! (And yes, Substack is so great for meeting like-minded people.)
Thanks Susie :)
I remember seeing a movie when I was about 15 and a quote stuck with me… “Society is mutating so fast that any one over the age of 25 is clueless”. 35 years later I’m thinking “Society has/is mutating so fast anyone UNDER 60 is clueless”. No offense to anyone. I just feel it’s time (for me at least) to say “Whoah Buddy, steady up. Steady up”, pull on the reigns and look around. I mean really look around and say “ What’s going on here? What is this madness”? And find my way back to the afternoon light on native grasses on the side of the hill where I sat as a child nurtured by nature as I tried to figure out what this whole life thing was about. One thing I know for sure, this thing Im holding in my hand right now is more if a thief than a gift.
Melanie it sounds like you are doing some good work to get back to a comfortable, honest place. I totally get the "thief" vs. the gift. Good for you!
Do NOT talk to me whilst I'm cooking! lol, I have that too. Maybe it's because cooking is my time to think of nothing else but the food I'm preparing, and that includes nothing about the days' news horrors. It's my time of complete peace. So talk to me later! :):):)
Phew, relieved to hear there are others in this boat - thank you for sharing that with me. And yes, it definitely is a focus that drives out all the crazy noise. Thanks Deborah!
Ah, this being human is so messy! Good thing it can be beautiful too - at least from time to time❤️
Ah, this being human is so messy! Good thing it can be beautiful too - at least from time to time❤️
You said it! So complicated - and they did not pass out instructions in the beginning! but yes, plenty of beauty - so much beauty, really. Thank you Diane.
I find it interesting that before I got to you using Dr. Google, from you description I thought maybe you have a touch of Asperger's. I am fairly certain I had ADHD but not to the point where I would get up in class, but instead I would stare out the window or get lost in thought.
My main point of interest was (and sort of still is) photography, and I could get lost in the zone too. I don't like large crowds mostly because I find it hard to hear with so many conversations happening at once. It's hard to drown out the noise. I'm curious, if you have to do something new, and it's something that you will do for some time, do you find you need to learn about it and then once you start you get good at it?
Anywho, welcome to the world of not being neuro-typical, it's must more interesting here and we have cookies!
thank you for the welcome, Lew (!) - I'm all in on the cookies! Yes, when I do something new, I generally do a deep dive in it and then stick with it until I've got it. Interesting to hear what you've observed and know about yourself. The photography helps a lot, I know (and you're good at it!). So we find our way, for sure.
Love the b&w butterfly image!
too funny, eh?
I feel like we are on the cusp of understanding different brain workings and hopefully can move away from “disorders” as if one brain type is normal and every other one is broken and move towards understanding and accommodation. My brain absolutely cannot bear being stuck inside with no windows, but as you point out, wouldn’t anyone prefer to be outside (or at least by a window)? So maybe by accommodating that we’d all be happier?
There’s this wonderful book called “Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests” by Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger and one of the many things she taught me is that trees communicate via aerosols. And when they awake in the spring, they release a lot of these aerosols. And about half of them interact with the human brain as medicine, calming us down and creating that feeling of euphoria. So Spring Fever is a literal, measurable medicine from the trees. How cool is that???
I just ordered this from our rural library Interlibrary Loan program. We can get a book from anywhere and it's delivered on a Bookmobile to our tiny village. Thanks for the suggestion. Rings true for me.
Ooh adding this book to my list. Thanks for sharing, Heather!
I'm reading a collection of short stories by Native Americans and noting that many cite beliefs that stones and trees and plants and creatures are alive, and that the ancestors easily spoke with them. The title is Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories. I doubt the original people worried about being neurodivergent.
Kirie, my book list is getting longer thanks to you. (yay for substack and communicating like this!) Would love to read this. And agree with you and Heather that looking to Indigenous wisdom could really realign us.
Oh I love this and need to read that! I really do believe that the future is Indigenous. That indigenous peoples have figured this all out before us and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Maybe we don’t need our “boxes” as Susie says (though I too did the test and damn!) and just need to recover the knowledge that has been overwritten. Humans know how to accept different brain structures. Humans know how to respect elders. Humans know how to interact with the planet sustainably. We just need to listen to different humans.
Here here! Agree with you both and also very grateful for the book suggestions from you both. So interested that you took the questionnaire, Heather! But yes I think what you all are getting at is that none of this matters in terms of who we are compared to the next person - we are all different, unique, wonderful in our own ways.
Wow wow wow Heather, that is the coolest - about the aerosol from the trees. I am so fascinated by how trees communicate but did not know this - that we can absorb these and feel lighter and better. No wonder I have trouble staying inside!
Also I agree with you and probably should have not used "disorder" in my headline or elsewhere. I can't write knowledgeably about neurodiversity but I truly believe that like so many other things, there is a wide range of different functionality that should be appreciated. We do tend to love our boxes! (says she who took a "questionnaire" with a "score" and looked at "graphs") ack!
Thanks as always for your thoughtful input. And I know you are outside enjoying spring as it arrives!
Every time you mention that hoop house it makes me want one—just to visit and warm up in! I’m pretty much out of space though. This was an interesting post!
You could do a small/short one, Maria. Or maybe carve out an area inside the big garden for one? They truly are magical - some kind of endorphin thing there.
I'm going to figure it out! Thanks for the constant inspiration.
Yay! Keep me posted or let me know if I can be of any help.
I love this. It is fascinating to notice differences in your own brain and to help yourself along by allowing your way to flourish. I too cannot chat and focus. When I have people over I get anxious if anyone asks to help. I have to pack for a trip and get the house ready to leave without talking. ADHD? Whatever. It does sound supremely serene to check on those seed trays, with focus.
Alice, I am glad to hear we share those traits, though, yes, who knows what it means? We do what we can to cope with the way we know we function I guess. And yes, it is truly calming (and awe inspiring) to watch the little seeds do their thing. As long as i've been doing this, I'm still tickled and amazed when a seed breaks open and sends up a little tiny shoot!