| I caught one of those National Geographic shows you watch when you wish you could leave where you are and get away to somewhere you would rather be. Anywhere, really. It was just playing in the background, but it caught my attention. It was a travel show on the Amazon, its people groups and the rich necessity of all the trees and waterways that part of the world has to offer the rest of the world. Strangely, it actually got me thinking more about humans than it did about trees. Apparently, despite all the wonders the Amazon possesses, it does not have soil rich enough at its depths to support their tallest of trees. Unlike the Redwood whose roots go deeper down into the earth and intertwine with roots of other trees to strengthen the stability for all, the tallest trees in the Amazon have to spread their roots wide on the surface; so wide that they will literally displace or destroy whatever is closest to them in order to create some stability for themselves. They essentially must steal the nutrients from other vegetation around them in order to survive; in order to seek sunlight for themselves. Any two height-seeking trees next to one another engage in an all-out ground war for surface nutrients and turf. I kind of wondered if that is a bit like humans these days. The deeper we dig and entwine our roots, the richer the nourishment becomes and the “taller” we grow but in a way that is not destructive to those around us; all are made stronger and taller. This living on the surface of things, however – the warring for turf; the not digging deeply, under the surface of issues, with a willingness to question our own positions; not evaluating an argument on its own merits instead of which “side” is making the argument; and not simply listening respectfully to another. The not digging deeply into the empathy and compassion needed to understand another’s story, and hear why they are so afraid to understand mine, is stealing the nourishment needed to grow and is making us ultimately more unstable. When we dig deeper, we find our fears place us on more common ground than we realize; intertwine us in ways that strengthen us all. Hate and anger are really just masks for fear and vulnerability anyway. We share talking points instead of truth, reactions rather than thoughtful responses, comments in place of conversation, judgment over compassion. We seem to care very little about how words and ideologies spread out on the surface of issues creating a wide swath of destruction in an effort to gain some semblance of stabiity for ourselves. We sow in the shallow soil of opinion and punditry, narrative and negation, politics and personal attack. We cancel those who don’t agree with us, missing an appointment with personal growth. Speech is only free when there is enough of it to go around. Nourishment is always found below the surface and outside of myself. And there’s really more than enough for everybody and no one has to lose a limb over it. Interesting side note about those Amazon trees … The natives believe that evil spirits inhabit the buttress roots. They take up much space in their destruction of all other vegetation on the surface and are thought to be “tricksters” that like to “frighten people away, or draw them in, with a hollow knocking sound.” A hollow knocking sound. I’ll just leave that metaphor there and open for your own interpretation. As for digging deeper and entwining our roots, maybe in that metaphor we all get what we need, support each others’ growth, share the sunlight. And no one needs to get taken out just trying to do the best they can to grow and make a life for itself right alongside us. |
Even the Wind and Waves 