Welcome to The Wildroot Parables weekly discussions! This is where we can come together as a community and have real talk with one another: open, honest, gracious, and curious.
This is YOUR space to discuss with each other, not just engage with me! Because of this, SAFE SHARING is my highest priority. If you are not engaging safely and with grace with others, you will have to leave. Period.
Thank you for entering this space with care!
In our devotional on Monday, I told a little story about a nearly ill-fated tomato seedling and the way tomatoes miraculously regrow, if given the right conditions.
Our question this week is: when you feel nibbled by the slugs of life, what conditions do you feel you require in order to regrow? What does the soil (your environment) look like? What nourishment do you need? No wrong answers; let’s share what heals us!
I find nourishment through quiet. Literally & more figuratively. I need quiet activities, less (or zero) social obligations, quiet music, quiet movies (often in the form of old B&W ones). And of course, always time in nature.
I sometimes set social obligations then literally cancel them last minute bc if I don’t feel well enough mentally to go, I can’t....and then I end up feeling worse 🫠
Totally feel you! I don't bother making them at all. If I'm led to be somewhere, I will. That is all. I basically let go of all involvement in external communities just BEFORE 2020. I saw communities I was involved in becoming politicized in ways that no longer resonated. So I distanced before they could try to hijack my sovereignty.
When I am in need of a little new life, due to stress or exhaustion or something else, sleep is restorative for me. But I have really been struggling with getting the right amount of sleep. Too much can ruin my productivity, too little can...well, also ruin my productivity. I have a lot of reasons to be stressed and a lot of things to be productive about and I am actively struggling with how much sleep to allow myself. Maybe I need to find something else to supplement sleep as a regrowth agent. Please pray for me!
I relate to this. I’ve found to let it be for a season (even if that season is only a few days). Let myself rest & heal, not worry about the lack of productivity and then when refreshed I try again. But it’s definitely a struggle to not allow it to go too far, it can be hard then sometimes to find the motivation to begin again. Burn out from stress is a struggle.
Your comment about quiet time was a helpful reminder. Taking time out of my day for some quiet and peacefulness can help me be more productive in the off hours.
Topical aside--a Civil War general used to make his troops march for 50 minutes and rest for 10, and he avoided Marching or fighting (when he could choose to) on Sundays. He boasted that he got more out of his men on a 50 minute march those 6 days a week than his counterparts did on hours-long marches with hours-long rests. So people have been grappling with this balance even then!
Ohhh how interesting! That really makes sense! I keep reading how new studies are showing people working 4 day work works are just as productive, if not moreso!, than those working 5 days. Rest is productive in & of itself. It would be interesting to see what would happen if our culture as a whole embraced rest.
So much of our economy is based on dysfunction...it would be interesting to see how it worked if no one was compensating for a dysfunctional system! IF we started with a society rooted in love, grounded all-way wins and truth and looked for best practices to support that with integrity...what industries would go kaupt and what would be born anew? I love gift based economies too! I also love the idea of disentangling capitalism from shareholders, so that those who create products/production are accountable to the end user, rather than the profits of investors.
Tangible memories! Things that remind me of a happier time, I always like to surround myself with 'stuff'. photos, movie tickets, receipts even sometimes
When I think of those memories with those people it warms my heart again, makes me smile, and the tears dry a lot faster. It's even nice to see where I was at that point and how far I've come since then...
Having the access to friends and or just being around friends. Things are a lot worse when you're alone so it's nice to get a second opinion or just do something that helps you get your mind off of it
(but sometimes I need to be alone to get better too...depends on the day)
Hanging out with my dog Luna always helps me of course, she can't talk back...she's a dog....but she always listens hehe
Some form of creative outlet....writing, drawing, doodling, painting.....Subconsciously I'm thinking through my problems as I work through the process
I would never judge a person on what gives them a sense of safety and comfort in a world that has anything but. Life is this thing where none of our needs are met and yet everything is expected of us. The world still thinks necessities are earned. Cuddle your stuffed animals. Watch your ASMR videos. Enjoy your favorite cartoons. Love what you love and who you love.
I often feel like a tomato seedling that germinated too early before the warm weather where it has to try to survive until the summer comes. In order to regrow, I wish I had a life based on inspiration rather than survival, and I wish I had people I could rely on. I like time spent by the ocean, swimming, and time for creative pursuits. During the winter time a cup of tea and a movie marathon isn’t so bad either lol. Thank you for this discussion as it’s very relevant to the kind of year we’re having. I’m a numerologist and the world is going through a 6 year which is all about healing.
SAME! I like aggressive ASMR though, I’m one of those haha. That’s a good point I never considered that, with the environmental factors. It would be interesting if a study was done on people who experience ASMR looking at what their home environments were like.
Love your reflections! I hope you find your roots surreptitoiusly regrowing without even doing anything! You are worthy of a life of inspiration even before you feel like you are "out of survival mode."
I find nourishment through quiet. Literally & more figuratively. I need quiet activities, less (or zero) social obligations, quiet music, quiet movies (often in the form of old B&W ones). And of course, always time in nature.
I sometimes set social obligations then literally cancel them last minute bc if I don’t feel well enough mentally to go, I can’t....and then I end up feeling worse 🫠
Totally feel you! I don't bother making them at all. If I'm led to be somewhere, I will. That is all. I basically let go of all involvement in external communities just BEFORE 2020. I saw communities I was involved in becoming politicized in ways that no longer resonated. So I distanced before they could try to hijack my sovereignty.
I do this, too. 🫠
I will say though people who love me never seem to really care -- I guess that makes me change how I feel if someone cancels on me though!
I love quiet too!
When I am in need of a little new life, due to stress or exhaustion or something else, sleep is restorative for me. But I have really been struggling with getting the right amount of sleep. Too much can ruin my productivity, too little can...well, also ruin my productivity. I have a lot of reasons to be stressed and a lot of things to be productive about and I am actively struggling with how much sleep to allow myself. Maybe I need to find something else to supplement sleep as a regrowth agent. Please pray for me!
I relate to this. I’ve found to let it be for a season (even if that season is only a few days). Let myself rest & heal, not worry about the lack of productivity and then when refreshed I try again. But it’s definitely a struggle to not allow it to go too far, it can be hard then sometimes to find the motivation to begin again. Burn out from stress is a struggle.
Your comment about quiet time was a helpful reminder. Taking time out of my day for some quiet and peacefulness can help me be more productive in the off hours.
Topical aside--a Civil War general used to make his troops march for 50 minutes and rest for 10, and he avoided Marching or fighting (when he could choose to) on Sundays. He boasted that he got more out of his men on a 50 minute march those 6 days a week than his counterparts did on hours-long marches with hours-long rests. So people have been grappling with this balance even then!
Ohhh how interesting! That really makes sense! I keep reading how new studies are showing people working 4 day work works are just as productive, if not moreso!, than those working 5 days. Rest is productive in & of itself. It would be interesting to see what would happen if our culture as a whole embraced rest.
4 day work weeks*
So much of our economy is based on dysfunction...it would be interesting to see how it worked if no one was compensating for a dysfunctional system! IF we started with a society rooted in love, grounded all-way wins and truth and looked for best practices to support that with integrity...what industries would go kaupt and what would be born anew? I love gift based economies too! I also love the idea of disentangling capitalism from shareholders, so that those who create products/production are accountable to the end user, rather than the profits of investors.
Tangible memories! Things that remind me of a happier time, I always like to surround myself with 'stuff'. photos, movie tickets, receipts even sometimes
When I think of those memories with those people it warms my heart again, makes me smile, and the tears dry a lot faster. It's even nice to see where I was at that point and how far I've come since then...
Having the access to friends and or just being around friends. Things are a lot worse when you're alone so it's nice to get a second opinion or just do something that helps you get your mind off of it
(but sometimes I need to be alone to get better too...depends on the day)
Hanging out with my dog Luna always helps me of course, she can't talk back...she's a dog....but she always listens hehe
Some form of creative outlet....writing, drawing, doodling, painting.....Subconsciously I'm thinking through my problems as I work through the process
Thanks for the thread❤️❤️❤️❤️
Tangible memories! I do this, too!!
I would never judge a person on what gives them a sense of safety and comfort in a world that has anything but. Life is this thing where none of our needs are met and yet everything is expected of us. The world still thinks necessities are earned. Cuddle your stuffed animals. Watch your ASMR videos. Enjoy your favorite cartoons. Love what you love and who you love.
I often feel like a tomato seedling that germinated too early before the warm weather where it has to try to survive until the summer comes. In order to regrow, I wish I had a life based on inspiration rather than survival, and I wish I had people I could rely on. I like time spent by the ocean, swimming, and time for creative pursuits. During the winter time a cup of tea and a movie marathon isn’t so bad either lol. Thank you for this discussion as it’s very relevant to the kind of year we’re having. I’m a numerologist and the world is going through a 6 year which is all about healing.
obsessed with ASMR lmao I bought my brother a gibi little doll that she special released for Christmas bc he loves it too lol
**this is probs bc we grew up in suuuuuch a loud household****
SAME! I like aggressive ASMR though, I’m one of those haha. That’s a good point I never considered that, with the environmental factors. It would be interesting if a study was done on people who experience ASMR looking at what their home environments were like.
Me too, I feel like the soft stuff is almost annoying bc I want more from it lol
Yeah I guess there’s so many people who listen to it and try to make it but nobody talks about why they watch it!!!!
Love your reflections! I hope you find your roots surreptitoiusly regrowing without even doing anything! You are worthy of a life of inspiration even before you feel like you are "out of survival mode."