Rooted Through The Storm

When life becomes stormy, our roots remind us what keeps us grounded. This talk invites you to connect with the values, beliefs, and inner foundation that sustain you through uncertainty and change. Return to your roots, breathe deeply, and remember what helps you remain steady.

Transcript

Hello there, Welcome. My name is Stacy and I want to talk to you today about mindset and discovering your deepest values, If you will. So let's talk first about the structure in which we live, Our homes, Our apartments, Condos, Whatever we have. At the very base of this structure, We can often not see it. It is deep within the ground, Known as the foundation. Without a solid foundation. What we can see, The walls, The windows, The doors, The roof, The spaces, Would not be as sturdy and steady, Especially when there are storms outside. So the foundation is key for the integrity of the structure. Now, If we switch our attention to a mature tree. This beautiful pine tree or oak tree that sits outside our window, That which we can see is beautiful, The branches, The needles, The leaves. The trunk. But what we cannot see. Are the roots that go deep into the earth that keep the tree healthy, Keep the tree upright, Especially when the winds come and the storms come. So if we think of those two very literal examples, Of the solidness of that which we cannot see. I think it's so important as human beings to consider What would be the equivalent to a foundation or roots of a tree? In our own existence. What are the values, The beliefs, The qualities, The habits, The rituals that are most important to us that keep us steady when life gets stormy? I've been teaching this concept for years and each year that I come around to it, I typically teach it in the fall. In the September months because as we enter into the last three months of the year, There can be a lot of emotional storms. There's a lot of expectations, A lot of chaos, A lot of demands put upon us that could be the equivalent to a storm outside our home. And so what keeps the home steady and secure and what keeps the trees upright and strong are the things that sustain it, The roots and the foundation. And I like to think that we too would benefit as humans to understand and know and make sure that our roots are intact, Our foundation walls are intact as we come into stressful situations. Regardless of the season. So I think that. Or me. Knowing what is most important to me in terms of values, Beliefs, Qualities, Rituals, Habits, How I choose to show up in the world. Can I identify four of those things? Knowing that those four roots is what keeps me as a beautiful tree upright when life is hard. I realized last month. As I was experiencing some unusual feelings that I don't typically feel. I started to realize that one of the roots that's most important to me is having a grateful heart and being grateful for the little things as well as the big things in my life. And I noticed last month I was starting to feel irritable, Jealous, Envious, Angry. And I realized that those feelings were emerging because I was not. Supporting the root of myself in terms of gratitude. I was missing the small and big things in my life as I was finding myself comparing and contrasting with other people. And so in that moment, I had a lot of emotional storms. My tree was not as upright. It was not as steady because the root of gratitude was being neglected. Was starting to die off. And so I immediately caught myself and shifted myself and brought my awareness back to gratitude. But it was such a profound. Experience for me to realize that truly without taking care of the roots, I would not have as much ability to sustain life's hard storms because you got to have strong roots, Otherwise your tree is going to topple. So I think that it's really important. To visualize a tree or a beautiful structure and see the solidness of that which we cannot see, And then determine for ourselves what is most important to us. It could be some things like faith. Faith in something outside of ourselves, Greater than ourselves, Spirits, Whatever you want to identify. But faith is really a root for many people. A connection is important, Whether that's family, Friends, Connection to nature, To animals, But feeling part of something might be a route that is very important to you. Compassion, Love, Creativity. Creativity is a big one that comes up. People have to have creativity in their life, Otherwise they cannot withstand the storms of life. They don't have an outlet for the chaos that they're experiencing. So there's many different things that you can think of in terms of what is your deepest values? What are your deepest beliefs that without them you would be less steady? And I think it's important to really look at those and identify them. Now I like to write these things down and really sit with, I've even scribbled in my journal a few times a beautiful tree and then made four roots and I named and labeled those four roots as that which keeps me upright and steady and strong to affirm that and to be aware of it so that I can continue to make sure my roots are healthy and that they're being nourished and they're not dying off. So as we move into the final few weeks of this month, I would encourage you to to look at a tree and notice what you can see. And then imagine those roots going deep into the earth. Holding that tree up and then take that awareness to yourself and see your beautiful self as you are that which we all see and then go deep deep inside of you. And what is it? Can you name? For values, Beliefs, Qualities. That sustain you when life becomes stormy. I think it's important work and I think it can lead us to greater understanding of who we are. And when we identify and name the four, It becomes solid, It becomes real. So that is what I would encourage us as we think about mindset and navigating storms and how to shift our awareness into what truly matters, Which many times when I have taught this concept, It has been the most rarest that one of the roots is material things. People have depth, We have depth and getting the biggest house or the fastest car really is not what sustains us, Although our culture and lifestyle might say otherwise. But if you can look beyond that and go deeper into perhaps a value that is so important to you as being productive and a byproduct of productivity is you might be compensated well for it. And so those things matter, But it's not the things that matter. It's the feeling from doing the things. So that is the direction to take this fall to look deep within and identify your four main roots or your four foundational walls that keep your structure upright and then stick around. We'll be talking about how alignment fits into those four values. Have a beautiful day. Take a breath. Find a tree. And discover your values. Take care.