Why is being rooted more important now than ever?
If you are anxious and exhausted by the chaos of the past two years, you are not alone. Many women approached 2022 with cautious hope and a deep craving for order. The many unknowns and changes related to pandemic times have caused us to be anxious about things that we used to do without thinking (or with significantly less thinking) - like working, eating, parenting, reading, communicating, and more.
This reality made one of my go-to practices even more important for creating order, which I consider essential for well-being. Each year I encourage women to choose a focus word or intention for the year. This differs from a New Year's resolution in many ways and is a way of anticipating, observing, and evaluating the year.
“Deep” was the word that I kept coming to over and over. Until I shared my word with my bestie whose shocked face and ensuing laughter told me I might be on the wrong track. She suggested I use the Hebrew letters for the word for the tangible representation of my word (usually a bracelet or necklace that I wear as a reminder to notice). I was suspicious when she said that. But seeing her face when I mentioned it again along with her husband‘s raucous laughter solidified that my word would not be “deep”. The process that I use for choosing my focus word has worked for over a decade. My friend's reaction affirmed the angst that I had about the word internally. I wanted the sentiment, the meaning and all of the purpose behind the word but I just wasn’t 100 percent sold on that specific word. So during the last week of the year, I was still wordless.
Then on December 30th, we were enjoying dinner with great friends when the word arrived just-in-time for the new year. Our host was telling a story about the root system of redwood trees. He described how the root systems grow wide and not deep like other trees, gaining their nourishment from other systems and organisms. Suddenly all that I had wanted to describe with the word deep was covered with the word “rooted” plus many more incredible images and meanings.
The next day I dove into my process of research, prayer, and scriptures to confirm that the word passed the tests. I am happy to say that it passed. The parts of the definition of “rooted” that resonated with me included:
Part of the plant extending downward from seed into ground, providing stability and nourishment
To be firmly established
To pull up and destroy
You don’t have to choose rooted as your focus word or even choose a focus word to recognize that being rooted is important. Let’s dig into three ways to be rooted derived from the definition - 1) Connection, 2) Community, and 3) Character.
Stability and Nourishment - Connection
Just like those redwood trees, humans need stability and nourishment. And just like trees, human needs are met by extension in many directions. Neither trees nor humans survive alone. As a human you may convince yourself that being independent and thriving by yourself is possible and sometimes preferred. You are lying to yourself - probably as a way to protect yourself from experiencing pain.
Consider your most basic needs for food and water. How would you meet those and other survival needs if you were alone? Consider your talents. You have many. But you can’t physically or emotionally do every task necessary to sustain your life. Each person has specific strengths and weaknesses. Together we form a network or connections. People you will never know play a role in your survival, offering stability and nourishment to you. In turn, you offer the same to strangers and people you know.
You thrive when you recognize your connection to other people, gaining nourishment and stability by being rooted. Keep connecting.
Firmly Established - Community
When was the last time you saw a lone tree? From where I live, I can look up onto a nearby mountain and see a specific tree that looks like it is the only one. A few years ago, one of my friends invited me to walk up the mountain to see that tree. After one failed attempt, we experienced lots of laughter and gained a story from our mistakes and adventures. Then a veteran hiker offered directions and we set out again. Our families made it to the tree that day. Guess what? What appeared to be a lone tree was not a lone but a tree surrounded by other trees and life seen and unseen.
The same is true for you. You may feel alone but you are not alone. You were created to be in a relationship with others. You thrive when you know others and are known. You know this to be true. Even if you are introverted - make sense of the world by yourself and gain energy from solitude - you benefit from social interactions just with less frequency than an extrovert.
Loneliness is an epidemic. Science is finally catching up and admitting the many dangers and diseases that result from extended loneliness. You, like all humans, will feel seasons of loneliness but when it goes on for too long it is dire. Find your community. If you have been hurt by a community, I am sorry. People are human and fail. That is no reason to reject communicating. You thrive in relationships with other people forming a healthy community and being rooted. Keep communing.
Pull Up and Destroy - Character
Another meaning of rooted is to pull up and destroy. Surely you have experienced the joy of weeding a vegetable or flower garden. Picture this as you tugging at a weed, flower or other growth whose roots are anchored into the ground. There may be many reasons for wanting to remove the offending item. Maybe its existence is hindering other growth. Or maybe it’s time for a new crop. Or possibly the function or purpose of the space has changed. The myriad of reasons all lead to the choice to root the offender for some benefit.
This is true in our life as well. Good things are harder to root out of our lives than bad things. The cost of bad things is easier to count so the decision to root it out can be made. Often good things need to be rooted out to make room for growth and greater things. This may be true of relationships, behaviors, or thoughts that are paralyzing. A woman who is looking to grow may need to root out the unnecessary, unhelpful, and unprofitable areas to make room for the purposeful. Feelings of depletion or overwhelm are signals that the time has come for rooting.
Join me in rooting out what needs to go to make room for healthy growth. I don’t know what that is for you. I don’t even always know what that is for me but I am observing and ready to take action when it becomes clear. From experience, I know you thrive when you root out the diseased aspects of your life, allowing for growth and health. Keep growing.
Share your focus word
I am so glad my best friends laughed at my initial word choice. The depth of this new word and all that it means to me is profound and well worth the chuckles at my initial attempt.
What is your focus word? I promise not to laugh at you, only with you, if your word needs further refining like mine did. Choosing your focus word or intention is a process and one that involves research, prayer, scriptures (see bonus below for “rooted” scriptures), and community. Share your focus word with The Commons community in the comments.
Bonus Content: Meaningful “rooted” scriptures
Romans 11:16 (Identity)
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (Prayer)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
1 Timothy 6:10 (Caution)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Revelation 22:16 (Jesus)
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.
