Can Trees Talk?

by | Nov 2, 2022 | Change, Ideas |

trees

According to the dictionary defintion, language is what people use when we talk to each other. Looked at this way, we are the only beings who can use language, because the concept is limited to our species. But wouldn’t it be interesting to know whether trees can also talk to each other? But how? …

Trees, it turns out, have a completely different way of communicating: they use scent.

Peter Wohlleben in ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’

As so begins chapeter 2 of ‘The Hidden Life of Trees‘. It is interesting how limiting the definition of language to our species narrows our way of thinking about it.

It makes me wonder how I limit my own thinking and solution finding by the definitions I use. While it is good, no important, to have definitions of tems to work with, how can we remain more open to different definitions? And how do those different definitions expand or contract our thinking to enable us to see a new solution?

Trees talk to each other, just not with words. We do this too – talk without words.

What are some of the key terms and their definitions you and your teams use in your projects? Write them down. Now perhaps have a team discussion about what are some other, more expanded, definitions of those terms? What insights do you find?

Photo by Matt Artz

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