BEING GROUNDED

Often the image associated with aspirations and success is that of soaring high above like a bird, and seldom is there an image of being grounded - like the roots of a majestic tree.

So I've been curious about where this desire to soar becomes a symbol of success, and what it says about our capacity for being grounded.

Here are some recent insights that have brought my attention to the importance of grounding, perhaps as a balancing act to the soaring. I'm not suggesting one over the other, but reflecting on their context and relationship.

• In 'The Nutmeg's Curse' by the brilliant Amitav Ghosh, he brings our attention to the Earth as Gaia - the living Earth, as against the modern scientific narrative of the planet as being an inert object that is only as good as its resources. He also hints at space conquests (Moon, Mars and so on) being overly glorified, which then in contrast imply the Earth as boring and exhausted. The soaring is seen almost as an escape from the mundane.

• Another podcast informed me about the immense healing capacity of grounding/earthing (apparently you get earthing pads at pharmacists), which essentially electrically reconnects us to the Earth. Our over-exposure to gadgets is messing with the ions in our bodies, which can only be set right by Earthing.

• And finally, as a coach, one of the most effective ways to deal with the risk of transference is to be grounded in our inner being. Even to feel our connection with the lovely Gaia beneath our feet can have a deep impact on our capacity to be present to ourselves and to our client.

So each time we aspire 'to soar', I'm wondering if it's as an escape from our current reality to a possibly better (yet unknown) future, or do we actually mean it as 'allowing for unbounded growth that is the natural extension of being grounded in our true being'. 

I'd like for it to be the latter :)

Happy to hear your thoughts.

Picture: Picturesque Porto - a stunning tree and an enchanted me!