Member-only story
How Roots Are Guiding Me in Grief
“Rooted” was my word for 2024; I had no idea how much I’d need it…
Roots start small. Through a combination of water, light, and the incredible nature of the natural world, they push deeper. They push through dirt. They upend hard things in their way. They hold firm against the winds and storms that pelt their symbiotic connections above the surface. Roots are worthy of our attention. I knew this when I picked “rooted” as my word for 2024.
What I didn’t know was that I would face the toughest year of my life.
Resolutions
The beginning of the year brings incessant talk of resolutions. We’re all encumbered by it. I’ve never been one to latch on to the idea. It hasn’t worked for me in the past, so I began looking for something that might.
Heading into 2023, I was encouraged to choose a word for the year. My word for that year was “Focus”. As the year was winding down, I looked back on the year of “Focus” and began thinking about what impact that word had on my year. There were times when I was better at focusing than others. There were moments when I was blown off…