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Michael Pollan: How Gardening Is a Metaphor for Life

Season 6 Episode 605
Aired on 03/29/2015 | CC tv-14
Michael Pollan's groundbreaking books have elevated our consciousness of eating and celebrated the surprisingly spiritual side of food. In fact, Michael says his awakening about the deeper meaning of food came about in the garden, a place he says has taught him many life lessons. "The garden is an unhappy place for the perfectionist. Too much stands beyond our control here, and the only thing we can absolutely count on is eventual catastrophe," he writes in Second Nature: A Gardener's Education.

Being a gardener, he says, teaches you that life isn't always about you and what you want. "And one of the things it's a metaphor for is the fact you can't control everything. And that there are other living beings that you share this place with," he says. "Unless you respect what they need, you're not going to get what you want."

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