Deep Roots Aren't the Only Kind
I was walking through a botanical garden in my neighborhood recently and found myself noticing the roots.
Some disappeared deep into the earth. Others traveled surprisingly close to the surface, spreading outward in every direction. Some were thick and sturdy, while others formed intricate networks of finer roots.
It made me think about how easily we equate being well-rooted with having deep roots.
But plants have developed all kinds of ways to root themselves. Some send a central root deep into the earth. Others create wide, shallow networks that allow them to gather water and nourishment across a much larger area. And beneath the soil, roots can become part of even larger networks of relationship and exchange.
There isn't just one way to be rooted.
What roots have in common is that they connect a plant to the resources that sustain it.
They anchor. They absorb. They reach toward nourishment. They create relationship with the ground around them. And because a plant is rooted, it can move and grow.
A tree can sway in the wind without being carried away by it. It can respond to changing light, temperature, rain, and seasons while remaining connected to the sources of nourishment and support that help it thrive.
I think this gives us a useful way to understand what we mean when we talk about being grounded.
Grounding isn't simply a feeling of calm. It's a way of becoming connected to the resources that help us meet our lives with more steadiness.
We sometimes talk about being grounded as though it were a quality we're supposed to generate entirely from within ourselves. Be centered. Be resilient. Stay calm. Hold it together. But a tree doesn't stay upright because it has somehow mastered the art of self-sufficiency.
It stays rooted through relationship.
Its roots connect it to soil, water, nutrients, microorganisms, and the larger ecology in which it lives. Its stability comes, in part, from its ability to remain in relationship with what sustains it.
Maybe our own sense of groundedness isn't so different.
Our resources might include the body. The breath. The earth beneath our feet. Another person. A community. A practice. A place we love. Meaningful work. Beauty. Rest. Prayer. Nature. A sense of connection to something larger than ourselves.
I think one of the more interesting questions we can ask ourselves is:
What Am I Rooted Into?
Ready to Grow Your Roots?
If you'd like to explore these ideas through practice, there are two ways to begin.
Rooted in the HeartJoin me September 19–30 for a live 12-day Grounding Meditation Journey exploring the heart through earth, roots, water, trees, breath, sunlight, flowers, fruit, and seed.
Or, if you're looking for a grounding practice you can begin anytime, Daily Ground is my on-demand library of 70+ brief somatic grounding practices designed to help you return to your body, breath, and inner resources.
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