When Your Head is Low, Examine Your Roots While You Wait for the Sun

     We need adversity and challenge to develop.  When our head is high and things are well, we don’t grow into enlightened, evolved humans.  We move along happily.  It’s a state of being we all want to be in all the time, and we grasp everywhere to maintain this “happy,” but it’s only when we struggle to hold ourselves up and find the light that we experience our greatest opportunity to flourish.  When our heads are low, it’s nature’s way of telling us that we need to simply open our eyes and examine our roots.  

     We had a glorious rainstorm last night.  I enjoyed hearing the pat, pat, pat on the skylight and garage roof.  I enjoyed opening the back door and hearing the drops hit the patio and the smell of them on the asphalt.  We needed the rain.  

     This morning, I looked out the backdoor and saw that the Japanese Elm my husband planted a week ago has a dropped head.  The rain beat down the fragile new growth and now it hangs low, it’s topmost part points toward the ground.  I want to prop it up with a stick, help it along, but I also know it grows stronger in the struggle to lift itself towards the sun.  In some sense, it needs the struggle in order to grow tall and sturdy.

     Similarly, so do you. 

     Are you in fear?  Do you have unrealistic expectations? Are you struggling with perfectionism?  Are you fragmented due to responsibilities and others’ whims?  What are your motivations, sincerest actions, and where is there room for your improvement?  Remember, you can’t change someone else, only yourself. 

     If today your head is low, accept that this is a part of life, not necessarily a fun part, but a natural necessary piece nonetheless, then examine your roots and;

• Tell someone what’s really going on with you, not just what you think looks good or what someone else may want to hear
• Watch a funny movie, or even a sad one to help you release emotion that is trapped in your body
• Reach out and help someone else and really hear what they say, not what you want them to say or what you imagine they’re saying
• Make a list of all the things you’re proud of about yourself, or all the things you’re grateful for, better yet, both

     By exploring your roots, a job that it’s important to have support and guidance with although you must ultimately do it alone, you’ll become more stable and grounded and be ready to lift your head when the sun does shine.  And it will.  It always does.

     March was a difficult month for me, as was February.  I had physical problems I’ve never experienced, and someone I cared for deeply passed away.  However, it’s April now, the flowers are in bloom, and the days are warm once again.  I have grown so much stronger and am that much more supported in myself and confident to hold my head up high.