🌱 🌰 Why Nurture The Root
Dear Why Team member,
I hope this week's message finds you well and open to work more on your nurturing habits. This week we consider the importance of:
Nurturing the Root!
Consider that to reap some fruit in life, there is no shortcut; we must wait for the tree to fully develop.
Several years ago, I was blessed to take a trip through southern Spain, I marveled at the vast quantity of olive trees; apparently, there are more olive trees in Spain than in any other country. Depending on the olive desired, some trees can take more than 10 years to bear their fruit. This truth struck me. No matter how modern our modern world, no matter how vast and fast our technology, some of the richest most nutritional fruit can only come with time and with years of nurturing the root.
Consider your life and its fruits that only time can bring.
Why is it so important to nurture our root? Because the health of our root will determine the quality of our fruit.
Consider how the fruit you bear feeds both you and others. And, does not the tree of life invite us to lay down seed for others? Clearly there are those who feed life and those who more-so feed off life.
No fruit, No seed?!
Hmm, I love a good metaphor.
If the root of an olive tree is well nurtured, the tree can produce fruit for up to 1,000 years. Consider how the fruits you're bearing today could impact lives far beyond your own.
In what daily ways do you nurture your root? Of course, our physical bodies need the obvious, to be watered regularly and fertilized with good food. But consider how you nurture the root of your thoughts. How much time do you invest caring for your mind and the root of your thoughts? With easy access to media: Podcasts, YouTube videos, etc., what kind of good fertilizer do you read/listen/watch that will nurture your positive mental growth?
Is your mental intake of good quality?
And if not, Why not?
Many people today aspire to develop physical health disciplines while giving little attention to the development of their mental health disciplines - it is difficult to maintain one without the other. When experiencing mental unrest, consider it an invitation to invest more time and attention into the root of your thinking - thinking that may be bearing less desirable fruit in your life and the lives of others; not as a negative, but simply as a call to give your thoughts more attention.
When you note the drying leaves on your favorite house plant, do you not take a moment to provide water and maybe move the plant to a place that can gather more sun?! Consider asking,
"Why am I thinking what I’m thinking? Why am I allowing this thought to upset my life?
What gift of insight may I gain via a little watering and repositioning for more light on the subject?!”
Is this not the work of a lifetime - to live, learn, grow, and give?
Consider how we humans uniquely bear such diversity of fruit. And note that some of our richest fruit can only come with time and experience, taking many, many years to flower and ripen.
You and your life are of priceless value. As the old Chinese Proverb instructs:
"Nurture the Root and the Tree takes care of itself".
Be loving and nurturing to yourself. Blame not the world or circumstance for any unrest you may be experiencing, but rather get excited about the invitation that the unrest has called you to notice, to look within, an opportunity to nurture the root of you. Consider reading the book, "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie, for a simple series of questions to assist you with your inquiry.
Nurture the root of you, allow yourself time to ripen, and no doubt in time you will bear even richer fruit for yourself and those you seek to serve.
Make it a great week!
Steve Luckenbach