Good morning.
I would love for you to join me and sit for a while.
Do you have a minute?
Great.
I'd invite you to take a seat or even lie down,
Whichever feels more comfortable.
Good.
And now,
When it feels right,
I'd like for you to gently close your eyes.
As we close our eyes,
We take away the visual distractions that we're bombarded with on a daily basis.
Once we do this,
We're then able to see inward.
We're truly available to see the internal workings of our being.
We can be connected to self,
To source,
And to the divine that resides within us.
Do you see how beautiful you are?
Now that you're comfortable and focused inward,
I'd like for you to take a grounding breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Good.
Feel the simplistic beauty in just a breath.
When I breathe,
Just a simple inhalation and exhalation,
I love feeling this breath come in on my nostrils.
And I enjoy making my exhales somewhat audible.
Combining sound with breath can be nourishing,
Calming,
Even spiritual.
So let's do this again a few more times.
Let's take some grounding breaths,
Clearing out the gunk of the day and taking you back to ground,
Back to source.
So same as before,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
But as you're breathing this time,
I'd like you to see if you can feel the ground beneath you.
Are you able to feel where your body and the ground form a union?
Where you merge?
Feel the ground's firm support of you.
Imagine the ground as a hand or a set of hands gently holding you,
Caressing you in its palms.
How does this make you feel?
Do you feel supported?
Safe?
Held?
Loved?
I hope so.
I heard a quote some time ago.
I can't recall whom the quote was from,
But it was something to the effect that we live in a world that is so visual that it eats with its eyes first.
Let me say that one more time.
We live in a world that is so visual that it eats with its eyes first.
Do you ever feel this way with things like magazines,
Television,
And social media?
We are being fed a constant supply of visual food,
Much of which tells us directly or indirectly that what is seen is true,
Right,
Or most important.
This visual food is not necessarily food that is good for the body,
Mind,
Or the soul.
In this type of environment,
Growth is derived or measured by external components.
But what I want to touch on is what is not being seen.
I want to talk about growth,
But the growth we see or feel with our intimate sight,
Our internal eyes.
I'd like you to imagine yourself as a tree.
It doesn't matter what type,
Whatever type of tree you would like to be.
You see your tree in full bloom.
Perhaps it's springtime and there are blossoms,
Or maybe there are just hundreds and thousands of green leaves that dress these gorgeous branches of yours.
Look at all your branches.
Beautiful.
You see the gorgeous brown of the bark covering you that protects the most tender parts of the tree,
Of you.
And you see the real nature of you.
Your bark is warm and rough,
All texture and grain.
Your bark is humming with all sorts of life,
All sorts of tiny insects making progress up and down your length.
Birds are gracing your branches with song,
And one it looks like is even building a nest.
The wind starts to blow just a little at first,
And it motivates your leaves and branches to move ever so slightly in the breeze.
You feel the sunshine and the blue sky all around you.
You are beautiful.
You're grand and awe-inspiring.
Once you've taken in your splendor,
I want you to go deeper,
To look much deeper.
I'd invite you to follow your trunk down,
Down,
Down,
All the way down until you get to where your trunk meets earth.
This is where it gets real.
Let's keep going.
Let's follow your trunk below ground.
Now what do you see?
Oh my,
How magnificent.
An entirely different world exists down here.
It's dark for sure,
Dark and moist and full of life and verve,
And yet so very quiet and peaceful.
You can hear the heartbeat of you down here.
It may be quiet down here,
But it is not motionless.
All sorts of insects live down here,
Scuttling along your root system with intention.
Amazing.
Your roots must be remarkable to handle all of the awesome that we saw above ground.
Do you see the intricate labyrinth of roots down here?
Let's follow one of the larger roots and see where it goes.
Let's follow it as far as we can to its end point if possible.
Did you find the end?
Did this one go out wide from your trunk?
Or did this one go down deep?
Either way,
If you go back to the base,
I bet you can find many others that you could follow,
Deep or wide.
And then all of the rootlets that come off the main roots,
And then the ones that come off from there,
All getting entwined with one another.
And you thought there were a lot of branches up top.
There are so many more down here.
I want you to see the depth and the length these roots travel.
What do you think?
Are your roots strong?
Healthy?
Are you feeding them properly with plenty of oxygen,
Rest,
Nutrition,
And attention?
Are you taking the time to feed this root system down here?
Or are you caught up in all the splendor above ground?
I'll tell you,
This foundation needs most of your attention.
Because if your root system isn't strong,
If it's not healthy,
All the substance that everyone else sees won't matter.
Because it won't last.
And eventually the lack of care down here will manifest itself above ground as well.
Your leaves will start to look sick,
Start to wilt and die,
And eventually fall.
If the foundation is lacking,
The tree won't survive.
It cannot survive.
I realize that it's often difficult to concentrate on anything but the superficial,
The stuff that everyone else sees.
But that must stop.
This growth,
The one beneath the surface,
While not the growth that everyone sees and not the one that may look good on social media posts,
Is the only growth that truly matters.
Take the time,
Take the time to close your eyes more often and go inside.
Regularly do inventory down here and assess what maintenance needs to be done.
Because your true beauty cannot help but shine through if you're taking time to strengthen this root system of yours.
Take a few moments here to really pay attention.
You'll be able to feel what needs to be done.
I'll let you breathe here for a moment and just be with yourself.
Let's bring you back.
Back to the you here in this room by taking a slow cleansing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Feeling you come back to the present moment and back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and maybe your toes.
Nice.
And when it's right for you,
Flutter open those eyes.
Perfect.
How are you?
How do you feel about your root system?
Did you make an assessment?
Are you doing all the things to make good strong roots?
I know with myself,
There's always something I can do to promote growth from within.
Come back here often and reassess.
And remember that the most important parts of this are not what the world sees,
But what is below the surface.
You truly are a wonderful and magical creation.
Have a beautiful day.
