This summer we've been doing lots of gardening. It's our first full summer in a new property. Once upon a time, there had been gorgeous gardens here, but in recent times, they had become overgrown to the point that this was complicated to tell what was there. So this summer we have been reclaiming those gardens, weeding, pulling out old plantings, dividing some plants, putting in sizeable perennial gardens and a cutting garden, and mulching.
Last weekend, we installed a peace pole in the largest garden and planted pink rose bushes around it. It appears to be stunning! When you transfer a massive plant from a pot into the ground, you first have to loosen and split up the root ball so that the roots can breathe and receive nourishment from the new environment. This also frees the roots to begin stretching out into new territory so that they can keep growing.
As we were loosening the root balls of the roses to plant them round the peace pole, it occurred to me that what we were doing was a superb simile for the process of growth and change, whether in our individual lives, in our setups, or maybe in our nations. Basically, our "roots" correspond with the boxes we are in. Those boxes may be relations, belief systems, habits, perceptions, or family or organizational structures. Our roots are only able to take nourishment from the limited environment of those particular boxes and cannot extend beyond their walls. Occasionally a potted plant even becomes root bound, implying its roots have grown extremely tightly to the pot and the soil has been used. There's very little left to provide nourishment, so the plant slowly dies. We, as well , can become root bound, being so tightly packed in a too-small container that we can no longer breathe or receive nourishment.
If the boxes of our lives are not serving us, it could be time to transplant ourselves in a new garden, or at least to a larger pot. If we want to flourish in our new environment, we have got to be willing to loosen and split up our "roots" so we can grow, receive nourishment, and stretch out into a new world. This can mean stepping beyond our comfort zone, but a time is reached where staying where we were is no longer a satisfactory option.
Change requires willingness. It requires collaboration in the process. Otherwise, we are forcing a change although not really inviting transformation. Evolution together with viable expansion and change, needs willingness to engage in life in new ways-new points of view, original ideas, and fresh approaches. Too often we create change on the outside, but we forget to loosen and split up our root balls- our continual ways of being and doing. When this happens, there may have been change on the outside, but the interior stories stay the same. There was no inner expansion, no metamorphosis. In the final analysis, we will go back to our old patterns and find our new environment tricky and challenging.
Our swiftly changing world is consistently asking us to split up our root balls and reach out into new territory; to break out of old patterns, habits, convictions, and practices that no longer serve us and start engaging with the world in new tactics. Often those "transplants" are forced upon us; at other points in times we have the foresight to initiate the shift ourselves.
We have choice. We can fight against the change, leaving our root ball untouched, and cheat ourselves out of the potential nourishment and expansion waiting for us in the new circumstance. Or we can loosen and break our root ball, stretch out into our new circumstance, and see what new life is there just waiting to be uncovered.
Where in your life or leadership is it now a good time to split your root ball and discover your new garden?
Last weekend, we installed a peace pole in the largest garden and planted pink rose bushes around it. It appears to be stunning! When you transfer a massive plant from a pot into the ground, you first have to loosen and split up the root ball so that the roots can breathe and receive nourishment from the new environment. This also frees the roots to begin stretching out into new territory so that they can keep growing.
As we were loosening the root balls of the roses to plant them round the peace pole, it occurred to me that what we were doing was a superb simile for the process of growth and change, whether in our individual lives, in our setups, or maybe in our nations. Basically, our "roots" correspond with the boxes we are in. Those boxes may be relations, belief systems, habits, perceptions, or family or organizational structures. Our roots are only able to take nourishment from the limited environment of those particular boxes and cannot extend beyond their walls. Occasionally a potted plant even becomes root bound, implying its roots have grown extremely tightly to the pot and the soil has been used. There's very little left to provide nourishment, so the plant slowly dies. We, as well , can become root bound, being so tightly packed in a too-small container that we can no longer breathe or receive nourishment.
If the boxes of our lives are not serving us, it could be time to transplant ourselves in a new garden, or at least to a larger pot. If we want to flourish in our new environment, we have got to be willing to loosen and split up our "roots" so we can grow, receive nourishment, and stretch out into a new world. This can mean stepping beyond our comfort zone, but a time is reached where staying where we were is no longer a satisfactory option.
Change requires willingness. It requires collaboration in the process. Otherwise, we are forcing a change although not really inviting transformation. Evolution together with viable expansion and change, needs willingness to engage in life in new ways-new points of view, original ideas, and fresh approaches. Too often we create change on the outside, but we forget to loosen and split up our root balls- our continual ways of being and doing. When this happens, there may have been change on the outside, but the interior stories stay the same. There was no inner expansion, no metamorphosis. In the final analysis, we will go back to our old patterns and find our new environment tricky and challenging.
Our swiftly changing world is consistently asking us to split up our root balls and reach out into new territory; to break out of old patterns, habits, convictions, and practices that no longer serve us and start engaging with the world in new tactics. Often those "transplants" are forced upon us; at other points in times we have the foresight to initiate the shift ourselves.
We have choice. We can fight against the change, leaving our root ball untouched, and cheat ourselves out of the potential nourishment and expansion waiting for us in the new circumstance. Or we can loosen and break our root ball, stretch out into our new circumstance, and see what new life is there just waiting to be uncovered.
Where in your life or leadership is it now a good time to split your root ball and discover your new garden?
About the Author:
Alan Seale offers transformational leadership training and coaching. If you happen to have got a dream that will not let go discover more about his spiritual coach training approach.
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