On Happiness...

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

I do.

And why do we?  Isn't it because want to be happier and better, and by being better, happier?  I've been thinking about happiness recently, for whatever reason...  maybe because I am 30 and when you're 30, all of a sudden, it seems like maybe life isn't as long as you thought it was and you better get a move on things if you're going to make anything of it all.  Or maybe it's because I am thinking about the changes on the horizon at work and at home.  Or maybe because everywhere I look, there are resolutions promising a better me:  "New Year, New Butt!" was my favorite (and I will admit, with that advertisement, I almost bought a class package to Pop Physique despite already having a gym membership).

So how do we go about obtaining happiness? 

Well, I haven't found the answer, but like I said I have thought about this quite a bit recently, so here's what's out there:

There is a good chance that you've seen one of the various articles about the top 5 regrets of the dying:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Or maybe you've seen the TED talk about how getting what we want is not what makes us happier.  (Instead, as this TED talk explains, we are capable of and do synthesize happiness based on what we end up with in life, some better than others).

They've even made a whole documentary about the topic of happiness.  (Here is the link.  It is available on Netflix and it was quite good).

All of these things have the same conclusion:  that extrinsic things such as money, prestige, and image are not ultimately what make us happy.  Instead, things we can do to specifically "grow happiness" include new experiences, "flow" via play or even in work, physical exercise, gratitude, acts of kindness, and meditating on love and compassion.

Despite the fact that we all know this deep inside, it seems like most of us still spend most of our time chasing and working to build that extrinsic stack, myself included.  That's the first part of why I am sharing these thoughts with you...  it's a New Year and we all want to be happy.

So here's my New Year's Resolutions for this year:
1. Exercise at least 3x per week on average:  I think given that I am a doctor, I can at least follow the medical advice we give others on exercise.
2. Cook at least 3x per month:  health and personal education, what more can I say?

Product of my resolution last week.  Given that I rarely cook, I am quite proud.

3. Most importantly, learn to rest:  This was inspired by a sermon by my pastor on "honoring the Sabbath".  It was excellent and you can download it here ("The Fourth Word").  The thing that stuck with me was that the reason to have a "Sabbath" day of rest is so that we learn that our self-worth is not in what we achieve (but instead in God).

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GARDENING BLOG!!

Yes, yes it is.  Which brings me to the second reason I share these thoughts...

A short argument for gardening:

A recent poll in the UK discovered that 80% of gardeners felt satisfied with their lives, compared to 67% of non-gardeners (and 55% of people who did not have any hobby).  Also, gardeners were less likely to have symptoms of depression compared to others.  

I will admit that polls are not terribly scientific.  So how's this for science: a published study shows that contact with a bacteria in soil Mycobacterium vaccae through the skin or respiratory system causes a release of serotonin (which is responsible for mood and learning).  Also, feeding this bacteria to mice made them more capable at learning mazes.  Sound gross?  Take from that what you will.

My personal argument is that gardening constantly exposes you to new experiences, provides a chance to stop paying attention to the noise from the rest of the world (some call it meditative), brings you outside into the sunlight (also associated with happiness), and the work you put in is directly related to the reward -- you reap what you sow, in the best way.  In essence, it is a chance to rest, which we all need.

So in summary, let's let ourselves be happier.  Even if we're busy, even if gardening is not your thing, I encourage you to find your flower somewhere... whether's it's cooking, writing, exercise, rock-climbing, surfing, or just stopping to smell the roses every once in awhile.

Happy 2014 to us!

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Roots + New Kids on the Block

And we're back!  Wow, I wish I was more computer savvy...

Anyway... summer!  Even though I don't always get breaks in the summer like I used to, I always think of them as being so much fun.  Fortunately, this summer I have quite a bit of free time, and better yet, I have my sister to come visit me!  Just in the last couple days, we've done some Santa Barbara, some spa, lots of shopping, and gotten sunburnt on the beach (much to my doctorly chagrin).  This past weekend, we saw an outdoor concert at the Hollywood Bowl -- if you've never been, my LA folks, go!  So with summertime concerts on my mind...

 

Roots:

I thought I would be really sad to pull out my tomato plant  which I had put so much blood, sweat, and tears into.  But it was actually a huge relief.  That tomato plant was stressing me out.

Anyway, once I pulled it, here's what I found -- a big ball of roots.  In the second photo, you can actually see how dense the roots got around the plant nanny that was stuck in the dirt there.  One of the primary issues with the plant was that I mistakenly put it in a too-small pot.  Here's what happens when you do that.  

 

Another interesting find whilst uprooting all the dead things was the dahlia tuber.  They are indeed tuberous.  If they had been healthy plants, I could've saved the tubers in a cool, dry place until next year and planted it indoors several weeks before planting it outside to regrow the same plant.  Here's what a dahlia's tuber looks like.  

 

New Kids on the Block:

Out with the old and in with the new.  As I mentioned in my last post, I've started getting more into cooking, in part with the help of a book called "Cooking for Geeks" (I've already learned a lot!).  One thing it mentions in the introduction is that the best and perhaps only way to learn to cook without burning out and quitting is to redefine success.  Instead of a perfect meal, success is having learned something, meaning that failure in the kitchen is a true success in the sense that it offers the most opportunity for learning.  I'm going to go ahead and say that applies to gardening as well.  And there is some joy to being able to pick out new and interesting plants.

So here's the newbies, good luck to you all.

Ptilotus "Joey"

 

An Australian native that I planted as a replacement for the tomato, this specific type of Ptilotus is an annual (meaning it will die at the end of the season), though perennials do exist.  It is touted as being very drought and heat resistant.  That's great!

It also has interesting cone shaped grey-pink flowers.

 

Yes, I instagram'd that.

Portulaca "Cupcake"

 

I picked this lovely plant because I loved the color with my tall yellow pot.  They will also theoretically slowly trail down the sides as they grow.

 

 

These plants are fleshy sun-lovers whose blooms open for a day in the sunlight and close forever at night.  Fortunately, there are a continuous crop of buds waiting to bloom each following day.  

Vinca

 

Also, known as the periwinkle, now's the time for these cute little flowers, often with differently colored centers.  I got them in an array of pink which I am partial to, and if all goes well, they will bloom through early fall.

 

These are also hardy plants with good heat and drought tolerances.

Maidenhair fern

One of my two hydrangeas died (the other one is doing great!).  So I replaced it by the relatively shady area next to the front door with this lovely fern, in part because my neighbor has a huge version of this plant and its leaves are just so delicate looking.

 

Ferns vary, but they generally lovely shady, moist areas (like forests).  They do not grow flowers but are grown for the fronds and reproduce by spores.  

 

How wonderful it is to have a whole new crop of plants growing rather than a bunch of dead plants judging me from outside...  I'm feeling optimistic!  

I leave you with a track that I dedicate to the scores of my LA friends who paid to see New Kids on the Block a week or two ago, you know who you are.  Here's the link.  (Yes, they are not only still around, but making new music...

Goodwiiillll

After a long break from gardening, combined with a recent stretch on night shifts, combined with self-induced stress about job interviews and questions like "what is my future?", I can't wait! to go outside into the sunshine and garden.

FINALLY, today, I had a semi-normal day off to do just that.  But before I can actually garden, I need to plan out my garden, choose what flowers to buy from one of my fat garden books, buy some new pots, pick up some wine crates from a kind soul at a wine store (because I am obsessed with the idea of planting an heirloom tomato plant surrounded by herbs in a wooden wine crate -- tell me that would not be the cutest), cut down my depressing dying jasmine plant and pull out all my other dead plants, buy new potting soil, and then, I can buy some plants and plant my garden.

*sigh*

All I managed to do today, before I got tired, was buy this pot from Goodwill:

It's alright.  It was $4.99.  It matches my other pots, and it will look cute with some basil in it.

Not quite the list of accomplishments I was hoping for from my day.  But I guess it's a start.  Upon coming home, I decided to make a more realistic set of gardening goals for the next week or so:

1. Either buy or find some wine crates.  I went to Lincoln Fine Wines two days ago, and discovered that they are happy to give out their leftover wine crates, but there are lots of other people trolling around for said crates (so there were none left).  Realistically, I will probably buy something online-- I am not a patient troller.  Here is the inspiration (taken from apartment therapy):

2. Pull out the dead plants.  Every time I eat breakfast, I am forced to look at all the plants I killed... it's time.  Out with the old, in with the new!  

3. Go slowly, and relax!  Instead of trying to plan out a whole Martha Stewart pinterest-worthy garden at once, which is kinda what I was trying to do (hey, dream big), it probably makes more sense to replenish the planters I have, instead of going nuts...  our collective bank account thanks me.

Anyway, hopefully next week, I will have more to report back.  Happy March!  Happy gardening!