The surprising psychology of noticing plants
How Singapore rewards even small amounts of looking carefully at its lushness
I have a mode I call Modern Life Max. Maybe you have it too. It’s that sped-up feeling you get when you’ve spent hours moving from screen to screen, tab to tab, making lists and checking off things. And even though you’ve accomplished some things, you hum with a low-level anxiety and sense of unease that you’ve forgotten to do something. This is why the digital detox was invented. But I don’t know. A full digital detox seems impractical for most of us in MLM with all its attendant conveniences.
On a recent weekday evening, after many hours of work, I decided to interrupt MLM mode by taking a short walk down the Rail Corridor. This is the part where Holland Road meets South Buona Vista and you walk past the Elementum Building with its pretty landscaping.
Singapore rewards even small amounts of looking. I saw these Foxtail Rushes, their gossamer shiny heads bobbing in the evening breeze.
This bamboo orchid- an exclamation point in lilac.
And the sunlight filtering in through the leaves, illuminating these make-shift steps reminiscent of summers spent reading Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series.
The walk took about half an hour. I was conscious of how comfortable my clothes were. Andar tights (highly recommend because they are soft, snug and don’t ride up), my Nike air rifts - they let my feet plant as wide as they need to. Modern life max is also about having the right gear. You don’t need a lot - a few core things that make movement feel wonderful, that make you feel good, are enough. “I am a strong person who moves today.”
I returned home in a significantly different, calmer mode. It felt like my brain had stopped shouting over itself. In looking up the plants I had fallen for, I learned about ‘Attention Restoration Theory.’ Developed in the late 80s by two environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, it posited that (Yes they were married and collaborated on a lot of projects) being in nature and observing its patterns can restore the brain’s executive function. The Kaplans coined a term called ‘soft fascination’- which is what had happened to me. My online world had fallen away. I had wondered instead about the rushes, and the orchids. I had thought about why Singapore was so good at nurturing and maintaining its gardens. The genius of NParks and its immaculate work, consistently delivering botanical surprises and the quiet delight that had been mine for the duration of my walk and after.
