Somy Ali raises concern around global warming

Somy Ali is fond of gardening and has plants in her house and even in her office. The actor-turned-humanitarian says plants give us a healthy environment, enable us to escape from the difficulties of life - Jyothi Venkatesh

“Sigmund Freud once said that ‘Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts’.

Greenery around us makes us happy and energises us from within. Gardening helps me relax and let go of things that bother me.

Unlike humans, plants don’t cause conflicts or hurt your emotional well being. On the contrary, they are quite therapeutic and above all, they don’t break our hearts, lie to us or are disloyal like the human species,” says Somy.

She also draws attention to global warming and the effects of it in our lives. “We have a long way to go when it comes to global warming.

We are literally destroying our planet by not educating ourselves on the severity of this very real issue. This isn’t a fabrication.

It’s a huge problem and we are killing our planet by not making lifestyle changes, even small changes help.

I urge all to watch Al Gore’s documentary on climate change to gain knowledge,” she adds.

Somy shares that gardening also helps her in maintaining her calm amid the ongoing pandemic. She also talks about what are the other things that help her retain sanity.

“I work out daily, I love sitting with my plants each morning and drinking my coffee. Additionally, No More Tears (her NGO that assists and empower survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence) keeps me more than distracted.

Gardening, on the other hand, literally does these things for you and I know this for certain as my degrees are in psychology and journalism, hence, I have conducted tons of research on the benefits of plants.

It keeps you active, improves your memory, boosts your mood, reduces stress, helps in addiction recovery, heals and empowers you. These are scientifically proven facts,” she shares.

Somy is very particular about her plants and garden. “I talk to my plants and water them religiously. In a study performed by the Royal Horticultural Society, researchers discovered that talking to your plants really can help them grow faster.

They also found that plants grow faster to the sound of a female voice than to the sound of a male voice,” she continues, “Plants bring natural beauty to your homes.

I have also studied that one glance at a plant lowers your heart rate. And again, to reiterate plants can only benefit your emotional health.”