How was your Garden Party, lately?

Did you happen to notice any of the garden / balcony / roof top / whatever it was around you, at all?  Now, if you thought it’s all there only to provide a nice entertainment location, delight w/ the beauty of flowers, or may be even source fresh mint leaves to add to your classic Mojito, that might be far from what it all can be.

What we actually relate w/ a Garden has changed quite dramatically over the thousands of years, since we have lost our grounds in Garden Eden due to Adam & Eve’s eagerness to eat the fruit of wisdom.

Curious to know? There’s a nice exhibition Gärten der Welt in the Museum Rietberg in Zürich until October 9, showing you through the centuries & changes of what gardens are, & what it’s given purpose is.

For the past few years our society was all driven by Urban Gardening in the City. Adding both, leafy greens to the city to help refresh the air, & grow food in tune w/ the the expanding fresh food revolution. 

Now, the Gardens exhibition reminds us of where it all starts: w/ the pollen as the most radical reduced form of a garden – as it’s the origin of plants. Looking back through times, it’s incredible, what a vast variety of perspectives & perceptions has grown out of the fruit of Nature.

The chronological presentation of oriental & occidental gardens includes much of ancient magics, like wonders & myths from Persia, Babylon, & Egypt. It retreats in Asian poetry, frugality, & strict Zen reductions. Parallels European monastery contemplation, & twines into wild romanticism, contrasting w/ painstaking botanical study drawings, & other measuring the world, up to the mathematics of ornaments – or pomposity rather – as seen in the Royal Gardens of Versailles, followed by the more Bourgeois Public Gardens as entertaining areas to stroll along to socialize by etiquette

It’s great to get the big picture drawn from what has been rather religious vision, beliefs, & contemplation, a nostalgia of Paradise, grow into the rational scientific discovery & wisdom, and extend the perspectives to image & representation, on to Gardens in the Arts of Literature, Movies, & in the work &/ life of Painters… The huge range of meaning of gardens is impressive.

Yet it’s only with Aufklärung in the 18th century when Johann Georg Sulzer states that it’s the fine art’s actual purpose to evoke feelings [1771-74 Allgemeine Theorie der Schönen Künste], & Philosopher Christian Cay Lorenz Hirschfeld [ 1772-1792 Theorie der Gartenkunst, 5 Bände, Leipzig] points out how landscape gardening as the new medium is assigned to evoke pleasant sensation.

It’s the English Gardens more than any other, that manifested the new world view esthetics relating to both, the physical experience, & the psychology of perception. The English Sensualists saw them as the most important form of true cognition.

Wow, that’s not even that long ago, but seems worlds apart from today’s überconsumer behaviorism. which is basically flat out just consumerism without much sensing.

You wouldn’t believe how many around us feel ashamed to be pleased & even more so joyfully express they like to see flowers. Unbelievable – it’s our Nature, it’s meant & grown to be pleasing to us!

Smell that Rose! when you walk pass it! Enjoy even small patches of Nature as an oasis to dwell on, to refresh, & revive for your demanding day. I see it as a secular way of contemplation..

Awareness & Mindfulness is key. That’s what Jon Kabat-Zinn, the US American Molecular Biology Scientist stands for & writes in his books like “Coming to our Senses“. Since the 1970s he pioneered to bring meditation up to the level of natural sciences. Finally, even our Economic Power People have come to their senses. At least they showed a huge hype at this year’s WEF  World Economic Forum in Davos w/ having Meditation Sessions. That’s a great start! We can only hope it helped them all grow awareness.

You, on the other hand, can make sure to be more pleased in life, w/ allowing awareness, & build on to being reflective.

Facing the turmoils in these days’ economy, leadership is recently turning from motivational to the new Reflective Leadership, which is more inspired & aware to what’s really the effects & what’s working to accomplish business success, as it Identifies and strengthens existing resources – internal & relational .

So, whatever your look around in the Garden at the Party, be aware, there’s so much to (make) sense out of all you could see, grow your awareness, your mind &/ mindful thoughts, & harvest w/ being reflective, taking your leadership to the next level.

While doing that, also make sure you simply enjoy the nature &/ Gardens w/ all your senses! It’s not to compare, how much more you’ll feel alive, lively experiencing what you’re actually living in your life.