The Root Ball

We are busy getting flowers planted, enjoying the warm spring weather,cleaning up the garden in the process. There was a small tree that did not make it through the winter, and our playful dog had uprooted it. It looked sad, just a few skinny, naked branches, but when I saw the beautiful root ball, my heart felt pity. It was a beautiful, strong jumble of roots, that looked like a big ball of strong , dark twine. I was trying to understand why I was reacting so strongly and emotionally to the sight of the roots of this otherwise sad looking dead little tree. Then, it came to me. We all are like trees. We are rooted to the earth through our challenges, heartaches, battles, efforts, limitations, and often, what can be seen with the naked eye can be a pitiful sight. But, underneath, only to be seen with the heart, are our roots, that are often quite more beautiful, stronger and more fascinating than what the surface of us would reveal. All around us, in our own family, in our street, on the road, in our larger group of family and friends, are beautiful, strong souls that often go unnoticed because we only see what is above the ground, so to speak, visible with the physical eye. It is good to remember that most of us are far more interesting on the inside, we all have our story, it is just a matter of standing still, scratching a little deeper, past the plain, the gruff, the irritable, the defensive, the anger, the aloofness, even the constant laughter, and find a human being to be treasured, discovered, appreciated and not only liked, but loved. I am so glad our dog Yara dug up the little tree, because she made me stop and think of how important it is to look beyond the seemingly obvious. The strong roots also reminded me to be kind to myself, that I am stronger than what my frame would claim. We all go through times when we doubt ourselves, our resilience, our importance, our heart, our skills, our relationships, and when we look in the mirror on those days, we probably only see the skinny, naked branches that we think make up who we think we are, and we conclude, what a pitiful sight. But, remember your root ball, that is the true strength and beauty of you, and how it anchors you, sustains you, and is the true essence of you, not what you happen to be able to pull together for the day. The root ball thus also reminded me to be kind to and proud of who I really am, a strong and worthy person, able to see the strong, worthy people all around me.