Big Trees, California Giants, Mighty Reds, whatever you call the Sequoia sempervirens, if you haven't seen them they are certainly worth a trip. Most of us know that Sequoias are the biggest trees on the planet. They can live to be more 2000 years old and grow to be over 300 feet tall and 36 feet around. With all that mass towering into the air you would assume that to support themselves redwoods have roots that grown deep into the ground. However redwoods roots reach down into the earth only out 5 to 12 feet. You may be asking yourself how do you such tiny roots bare up such a massive tree? The truth is, the sequoias roots do extend sometimes for hundreds of feet that they spread out laterally, intertwining and entangling them self with the roots of the other trees around them. The trees work together creating a strong and unyielding network. These magnificent giants simply could not make it alone. Without being connected to nearby trees, they would not survive. The trees are literally holding each other up.
Redwoods have the power and capacity
to support other redwoods.
One way to develop our own roots is to make sure we surround ourselves with others who can bolster and hold us up when we need it. Our roots may run deep or they may run wide, either way we want to send out long enough shoots to make sure we are nurtured, supported and strengthened. And when our roots are intertwined with others support and nurture them as well.
In 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson he teaches that surrounding yourself with good people is essential to create a happy life for yourself and your family. Peterson's rule third rule -
Make friends with people who want the best for you.
Be sure the people you surround yourself with are the kind of people you want to be. Good friends encourage you to find a purpose, think deeper, take responsibility. They help you find your way if you get lost. When you need love they wrap there arms around you like the intertwined roots of the redwoods.
Like the giant trees we must find people who want the same things we want and work with them to create a strong and unshakeable community. If a redwood does end up alone, not growing in and around other trees, it will die. We cannot make it alone any more than the trees can.
Humans need connection to other humans.
We need to hold on to each other and lift each other up. Even if our own roots run deep then we need to be sure to reach out to family and friends and sustain them in their growth, for truly we are their brothers and sisters. If we feel ourselves being tossed in the storm then we can knit our roots to those who surround us to get the strength we need. We all do better when we are supported, sustained, and loved by our families and friends.