Like most others, I want to put down roots- find the home, raise the family, be connected to the community. These are the things that I associate with being rooted. I've been pondering this idea of being rooted since it was brought up on Sunday Scribbles. I was raised in a family that was rooted to each other. We were rooted to the home, the community, the church, our Irish heritages. When I think of being rooted I think of safety and connection. Who would argue that these are bad things? Can being too rooted too deeply be a hindrance?Perhaps being these roots can also be an anchor that keeps us from change.
I wrote about my parents selling the house that I grew up in and the understandable sadness for me that followed that sale. My parents had the right idea, they are in their late 70's and those roots had become burdensome. Two people getting along in years don't need a large, 105 year old house that is in constant need of repair. They moved to a small manageable apartment downtown- a guy changes their light bulbs when they burn out. They are still rooted but they have another place to grow. I am so connected to my roots that I would not have sold the house- those deep roots would have kept me firmly in place and not allowed me to do the next right thing. These roots, which are meant to be good, would have instead become an anchor for me.
Anyone who has followed this blog is aware of the never ending story of K- and I selling everything and moving to Paris. The main obstacle in this scary/ exciting adventure is the thought of tearing up the small roots we have nurtured and following an uncertain dream. How many people forgo the dream to keep the roots from being disturbed? Which is more important the roots or the dream? I truly don't know the answer to these questions but I suspect I will find out in August when those roots are pulled.
What I hope to find is that the roots are within- that I will always be rooted to my family, my community and my heritage. What I would like to discover is that, in a spiritual sense, it is impossible to be uprooted.
18 comments:
I like the question, "Which is more important, the roots or the dream?"
Very thought provoking...
"in a spiritual sense, it is impossible to be uprooted."
I echo that. Wherever we are, we are always rooted...
so much of being rooted is attitude. You can retain your roots to your hometown as you develop new roots in Paris. It's an exciting move!
the dream! always the dream.
good words, very well put.
I totally agree with that last paragraph! Roots aren't necessarily physical.
are roots incompatible with dreams?
I think the roots that connect us to the family, to the people we love, are probably the roots most difficult to pull out.
I enjoyed your thoughts.
--and so it goes--
...Rob
well, like you said, you'll pull your roots in August.
you pull the roots so that they can accompany you on your journey. you take them with you. repot them in different soils. i don't think we really have a choice in the matter. our roots our built into our personality and character at this stage in the game. no turning back, no matter how many oceans you cross!
I love your last line -- What I would like to discover is that, in a spiritual sense, it is impossible to be uprooted. Very thoughtful take on the prompt.
I know. I know. It's, like, your third or fourth Thinking Blog Award, but I do love your blog and so I'm gracing you once more.
mmcrow
wow you got commentors coming out of the woodwork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its an extremely eloquent post.
As someone who has lived on four continents and traveled endlessly, I can attest that in a spiritual sense, it is impossible to be uprooted - as long as one stays true to one's self, rather than following every winding path along the way. Are you moving to Paris in August?
Wow. As I write this from the living room of the home my parents built and in which I grew up after we moved here from South Dakota, I relate to so much of your post. I would have been devastated had my parents sold this house to someone outside the family.
But it is also just a house, a building. My parents are gone and while this house is their legacy in many ways, who they were and what their lives were about is represented here, it is also just a representation. Not the end-all. So had they sold it, I would have been just fine. I just would have had a different address.
You are rooted, in my opinion, in your experiences and all that you have done up to a particular point in your life. You are rooted, as you suggest, by your spirit, not the physical trappings because those do not accompany us when we cross over to the next chapter.
Good luck with the move. I shall be back to follow your progress.
Here's the link to my Sunday Scribblings: http://www.jhsiess.com/2007/04/sunday-scribblings-56-rooted.html
Great post. As someone who moved a lot as a child and never had a "family" home, I come from a different experience, so it's pretty easy for me to say the dream is worth following. But I think you'll find it to be true and that you'll find you always feel rooted to your family home.
Perhaps the fulfillment of our dreams allows us to deepen our roots, our connection to those things that hold us to this earth and that which we most value in life.
Thanks for writing this post. I must read this one a few more times.
you're right just like home is where the heart is, the heart is where our roots are. :)
I too think of roots as safety and connection. A very thoughtful piece, to be read often. Thanks!
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