From The Ground Up

I spent yesterday in the field. 

Not just "the field", but rather a field in Tipton County, Indiana, responsible for interviewing a farmer about his successful history with a seed company. A bit of my time was spent with John in the cab of his massive machinery, but even more of my day took place on the dirt that was drying out with the flat-land wind. 

In order to get the shot I wanted, I waited several rounds as he, excuse me, the satellites, turned the equipment around and headed to and fro. 

A gal can do a lot of thinking in the dirt, waiting on a man to get things straight. 

I looked around and saw a single seed resting on top of the soil. Even with a hair tie and several bobby pins, I could barely keep my hair out of my face and dirt out of my teeth; the wind was intense. I wondered how this tiny seed, the size of a pencil eraser, was able to stay put when the soil around it blew away into the wind as tiny dust particles. 

My bleeding heart showed up per usual; I kinda felt sorry for the Lone Ranger and with my thumb I pressed it into the ground. Just like that, my planting season was done.  

Something else caught my eye.

A weed still rooted and resting in a chunk of dirt the size of  a ping pong ball. 

It's interesting to look at that measly weed and think that it remained rooted even after such a vast machine made several passes. 

Resilience. 

I was intrigued. 

It got me thinking.

What kept that weed so firmly rooted into it's direct surroundings?

What keeps us rooted?

What unearths us?

I've written a lot about "deep roots" and how those roots influence where we go and what we do. My roots have in fact sent me away and brought me back home. 

But what about strong roots?

The ones that serve us right when we're faced with a choice. 

The roots that are tied to those voices in our head that guide us right from wrong. 

I know those roots start when we're young - and work from the ground up. At some point we're taught life lessons and it's our responsibility to remain rooted in what we know is true, and part of us. It makes you wonder what series of moments we experience, or don't, that give us strong enough roots to remain grounded in adversity. 

What keeps you grounded? 

Your parents? 

Your kids? 

Your faith? 

A relationship? 

But it was more than that tiny root structure that got me thinking. If you just look around, a lot can be learned from the ground up. 

There will forever be road blocks, and rocks, in our path. 

And we have to learn to take them in stride, work around them and adjust. 

There will also be really big road blocks - or rocks - in life's path. How do we deal with these? We flag 'em. We take notes. We learn lessons. We pray. We find ways to move them, and we ask friends to help. Sometimes, we avoid that route all together. 

There will be things that we realize don't belong in our life. 

They may seem like a really good idea at the time, then we understand it is best to go separate ways. 

An ex-relationship? Maybe. 

But I was referencing the infamous red towels. 

 There will be people who are not looking out for our best interest. In fact, they may be intentionally working against us. Recognize these set backs dressed in jeans. There are ways to rid your life of those, too. Round-up is always a good start. 

The path won't always be easy, fast, or smooth. And that is the beauty of life. If it was easy it wouldn't be fun. We would get bored. And we'd all probably be really lazy. 

As unremarkable as it sounds, my reminder to you today is this: 

Keep it simple. When life gets complicated, remember that some of the best guidance can be found when you're working from the ground up.