We all need roots to grow

I came back from a few days in France to find my plants and flower pots in dire need of water.

Their leaves were shrivelled, the stems were drooping, a yellow tinge had replaced their vibrant green, even if I had moved them to the most shaded area of the garden.

I gave them a big glug of water and placed them back in their original spot on the fence.

The morning after, the flowers were all plumpy again!

This reminded me that if flowers and plants have enough roots, they will be back to their beautiful selves once watered, they will keep growing and blossoming.

Their roots preserve life and help them overcome challenges like the drought.

I read recently that trees can grow as high as the depth of their roots.

The roots may be hidden and buried, they perhaps need that to protect the life force of the tree, the plant, the flower.

An uprooted tree can not survive.

And we, humans, are no different from the trees: we need roots to survive and thrive.

What are our roots?

For a lot of us, it’s a place - where we grew up, where our parents and grand-parents grew up: a village, a town, a region, a country.

Or it can be a house, which was passed down from one generation to the next, or a house that we bought and brought up our kids in.

For some of us, it’s our bloodline, our ancestors, a family tree that we feel part of and connected to.

For others, it’s about relationships: with our significant other, or a strong network of friends and neighbours. As long as we have these relationships, it doesn’t matter where we live, we feel anchored and rooted.

For some of us it’s about the values we uphold, the principles by which we live our lives. As long as we are able to live by our values, geography isn’t an issue.

For others, it’s our beliefs, practising our faith or living in harmony with our spirituality.

For some of us it’s a kind of energy, a certain vibe - like some love the energy of a big city and feel like a fish out of water when they go to the countryside. Or that sense of feeling energised when living by the sea, or in the mountains, or in the forest, or by a body of water.

Our roots are far more about these things than possessions.

When the going gets tough, we say ‘it’s time to dig deep’.

We need an anchor, we need to feel rooted to withstand the storms and heavy winds of life.

The roots transport us back to memories of easier and happier times, and that helps us to go through the tougher times.

It doesn’t matter what your roots are, as long as you have some.

What matters is to know, to have a deep sense of what they are, so that when life turns harder, your roots can look after you.

How to look after your roots?

Give them a nourishing soil: avoid toxic places, people or vibes that make what you have recognised as your roots go weak, or even rotten.

Acknowledge and celebrate your roots, do not take them for granted.

Cultivate them, appreciate them.

Allow them to go as deep as you need them to go, in order to match your aspirations to grow.

Then and only then will you be ready to embrace life and its challenges, wherever it takes you.