Make like a tree

I was thinking about how quickly public opinion sways these days. Perhaps it’s social media which allows us to see in a way never before seen how popular inclination can sky rocket someone into fame over night and just as rapidly bring them crashing down to earth over the most trivial thing. Since we are a part of this capricious voice, however indirect the connection may appear, I asked myself where in my own life does my viewpoint switch rather quickly and why.

I realised that we are living in an age where polarity is on the rise. Long gone are the days where we had moderate or lukewarm opinions. Now we are successful or we are nobody. We either love something or we hate it. It’s a soulmate or no one. Life’s magnificent or nothing. You get the idea. This bleak picture is the backdrop of our daily life. At such a precarious time, it’s understandable that we find it difficult to maintain our position on things especially when the situation can change in the blink of an eye and the outcome is so radical. Thanks to these odds, we are playing hot potato with ideologies that are forming the world we live in. We don’t have the time or the patience to see how things play out. We would like instant gratification now.

So how do we can anchor ourself more strongly and not be so easily swayed? In spirituality we are asked to look to the wisdom of a tree if we want to learn about stillness, patience and stability. We are so used to looking at the beauty of what’s happening above the surface that most of us miss the real place of magic; under our feet. A tree’s roots provide it with nourishment, protection and grounding. Most tree roots are two to four times as big as the crown. The deeper the roots, the stronger the tree.

In shifting our identification from our mind to our heart, we begin to grow roots deep into the truth of who we are. As we anchor ourself in our own stillness, a state outside of time becomes our new home. The wisdom we access here grows us into our most steadfast self, able to maintain balance and serenity in the midst of continual change.

Best
Afshan x