The Botany of Desire

The small irony in my intentional summer writing these past few weeks has been the absence of my usual writing. I'm afraid that in my search for Story, I have been neglecting my own story and musings on its behalf. I've devoted so much time to trolling* my own imagination that I don't have much to reflect on here regarding my own life, learning and experience. I've mostly been parked in front of a computer screen (and lately a movie screen), looking for a spark that might precede a good idea.

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan is my all time favorite book. I've never read it, but I've listened to it on mp3 a half dozen times - the first when I was spending countless hours splicing and terminating cable ends years ago in a noisy data center, and the most recent when I downloaded it to my laptop in my girlfriend's kitchen this morning. It is a fantastic recording - on par with the Jim Dale's reading of the Harry Potter series - and I always find comfort and inspiration from hearing Pollan's take on the natural world. The Botany of Desire is a well spun tale of 4 plants that shaped humanity. Unlike many natural histories, Pollan tells these stories from the plant's point of view. I like that. It reminds me of Ze Frank's show on "busting your cycle." (see below) These botanical storylines are familiar, yet they turn the classic tales on their heads both through research and novel perspective.

I keep reminding myself that good Story doesn't come from a well chosen plot line or an M. Night Shyamalanic twist, but from a change in perspective. It comes from showing an old favorite in a new light. So, what have I been writing about, cloistered in my thoughts instead of out in the sun these early summer days? Medical School. Lame, right? I hate myself a little for even saying it, but I decided there was still new life to be unearthed in that which has dominated and suppressed my imagination for the last year. Who knows, maybe this exercise will even help me cope with the the day to day of medicine by allowing me time to reimagine my place within its labyrinth. If nothing else, it should at least earn me a bit of closure with what was a thoroughly harried and disorienting year.

So, there it is: some Botany and some Ze. Not origional or groundbreaking but nice: a return to old favorites. I hope you do pick up the book or at least watch The Show below. The summer is a fantastic time for reimagining.

*trolling - I was recently accused of "trolling" or "being a bitch on the internet because you can." In this post, I was using "trolling" in its origional, fishing, context whereby one drags the ocean floors in search of shrimp and other hiding, tasty treats.