A Theory of Leaf Grabbing
Do you ever wonder why people grab at leaves and branches of trees when they walk by. We all do it and there seems to be no obvious explanation for doing so other than it just feels right. I do it from the windows of automobiles too. Whenever a branch is passing my way, I grab at it and yank off some foliage. Why?
I have an original theory about this but it assumes the truth of evolution, and from another point of view, it is just additional evidence for evolution. Now if you believe in or at least trust in the sciences of evolution, modern anthropology, biology, and so on, this theory or explanation will seem obvious to you. We are decendents of tree-dwelling primates. Monkeys swinging around from branch to branch. It is my suggestion that we have retained the natural impulse to grab at nearby branches. It is a genetic left-over. We evolved into animals that prefer to hang out on the ground, but we retained this little artifact of our ancestors.
It is instinct if you will.
I hope you think of this the next time you snap off a leafy-twig for "no reason at all."