THINKING LIKE AN ECOSYSTEM: This Weekend's Ecotone

I got my wisdom teeth yanked out over the weekend. Four teeth extracted under anesthesia have made for a challenging recovery. There's a constant dull ache pounding from my jaw to my ears, and the narcotic pain meds have made me loopy and very (uncharacteristically) weepy. I include this abysmal anecdote because it sets the stage for the ecotone I'll describe-- my sister's house.

Ready to leave the clinic but not ready to independently care for myself in my own home, my sister's house acted as a transition zone between these two stages. It was an ecotone of sorts-- no longer under the care of nurses but not yet under the care of just myself. Over the several days I spent recuperating there, I noticed a major feature of this ecotone (and perhaps of all successful ecotones)-- it guided me.

This ecotone guided me from the moment of waking up to the moment of regaining independence. It offered a fluid transition from one stage to the next, offering continuity and flow between the otherwise choppy moments. Because I had this ecotone, I was able to follow a natural, appropriate course-- regaining a little strength and coherence before returning to my own home.

I then started thinking about other ecotones, and I noticed that the ones which stood out also had this feature of guiding. The rotunda in the National Gallery guides patrons from the isolated exhibits back into the bustle of D.C. The Visitor's Center at Walden Pond guides visitors from the modern parking lot to the stoic nostalgia of Thoreau's haunt. The Ballard Locks in Seattle guide boats from fresh water to salt water and vice versa (although to be fair, they pose significant problems for the salmon...). All of these zones serve as transition spaces, preparing the partaker to go from one to the other-- guiding them through. After paying attention to ecotones, I truly believe they're integral in creating a meaningful, cherished, and safe city. They save life from being a staccato of unrelated events, instead offering the blend and experience of a smooth, rich legato.