cooperation

“In fighting against resistance, we will become more focused on getting rid of the problem than on understanding what it is; by contrast, when working with resistance we want to suspend frustration at being blocked, and instead engage with the problem in its own right”. Richard Sennett (2013). Together. The Rituals, Pleasures & Politics of Cooperation. Photo by Monica Pinheiro CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

June

Estimates suggest that a garden of 1,000 square meters could sequester one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year [see entry from November, 2019]. Miyawaki forests, or tiny forests, are even more efficient sequestering CO2 due to their greater biodiversity and vegetation density. I wonder how much CO2 am I sequestering in my little páteo high density forest (around 25 square meters)?

Even small, little apartment forests help to clean the air, reduce water runoff, lower heat, feed bees, attract birds (and free manure!), reduce the garbage produced (by composting and mulching), lowers stress, brightens the day and fills the space with ever-changing beauty. 

Unlike «things», Nature does not repeat itself. One never knows what flower will open next, what new plant will show up, or what culprit will eat the fruits that we longed for :)

May 2023 photo by Monica Pinheiro, free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

May

"A warning is not a prophecy; the former assumes that we have choices and cautions us about the consequences; the latter operates on the basis of a fixed future (...)" Rebecca Solnit (2022). Orwell's Roses. Photo by Monica Pinheiro free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

March

"A garden is what you want (and can manage and afford), and what you want is who you are, and who you are is always a political and cultural question. It's true even of vegetables gardens (...) though more so with pleasure gardens." Rebecca Solnit (2022). Orwell's Roses. Photo by Monica Pinheiro free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

December

Photo by Monica Pinheiro free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

October

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

May

“We are nature. When we stand firm on that undeniable fact, shedding the long-standing illusion that there’s nature “out there” and then there’s us “in here”, we’ll be able to see in a new light some of our most troubling, persistent problems. (…) It really is possible to mend our relationship to the world around us and, through that mending, release an intelligence millions of years in the making.” Gary Ferguson, 2019. Eight Master Lessons of Nature. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

April

"Given enough solitude and enough time, the mind shifts into default mode and pans through connections that at first seem wholly random. It explores problems with a curiosity and openness we might never choose to entertain. But this randomness is crucial.” Michael Harris (2017). Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

April

“(…) it’s time to wake up the tissues of perception that have been there all along. We are nature. When we stand firm on that undeniable fact, shedding the long-standing illusion that there’s nature “out there” and then there’s us “in here”, we’ll be able to see in a new light some of our most troubling, persistent problems. (…) It really is possible to mend our relationship to the world around us and, through that mending, release an intelligence millions of years in the making.” Gary Ferguson, 2019. Eight Master Lessons of Nature. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

February

Which life is this?

Some say it’s hell

some say it’s bliss

Some neither know

 nor care to glimpse

 What is temporal

and what is permanent?

... 

She blinks

and in that instant

she lives half a thousand lives

“Thee Others” / Thatmanmonkz feat. Malik Ameer & Leron Thomas / Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

January

"(...) humans who build their success solely on the oppression of others may one day find their own feathered nests collapsing. We live in a world of natural consequences. And those consequences protect the essential vitality of the whole." Gary Ferguson, 2019. Eight Master Lessons of Nature. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

July

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Flourishing

«Homeostasis refers to the fundamental set of operations at the core of life, (...) is the powerful, unthought, unspoken imperative, whose discharge implies, for every living organism, small or large, nothing less than enduring and prevailing. (...) The part (...) that concerns "enduring" (...) produces survival and is taken for granted without any specific reference or reverence whenever the evolution of any organism or species is considered. The part of homeostasis that concerns "prevailing" (...) ensures that life is regulated within a range that is not just compatible with survival but also conductive to flourishing, to a projection of life into the future of an organism or a species.» Antonio Damasio, 2019. The Strange Order of Things. Vintage Books. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

"Focus on enjoying your dayly rituals, using them as tools to enter a state of flow. Don't worry about the outcome - it will come naturally. Happiness is in the doing, not in the result." Héctor Garcia and Francesc Miralles, 2017. Ikigai. Penguin. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

March

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

March

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Biodiversity-rich areas

"Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) refers to the strategically managed network of urban green spaces and natural and semi-natural ecosystems situated within the boundary of an urban ecosystem. These high-quality, biodiversity-rich areas can help make cities more sustainable and contribute to solve many challenges, such as air pollution, noise, climate change impacts, heat waves, floods and public health concerns. As cities grow and develop, it is vital to improve the availability, quality and accessibility of UGI." MAES Joachim, ZULIAN Grazia, GUENTHER Susann,THIJSSEN Martijn, RAYNAL Julie, 2019. Enhancing Resilience Of Urban Ecosystems through Green Infrastructure (EnRoute). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

December

Light at the end of the tunnel. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

November

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

November

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)