Roots



Everyone, meet my favorite spot in the entire state of Texas.  Favorite spot - everyone.  I call it 'my island' and yes, it must be visited several times a week.  My legs last until the other side of it and then it is time to sit under the most perfect tree.





Charles and I were taking a rest here the other day and I stopped and noticed the exposed roots I was sitting on.  They were huge! And bumpy. And hard. And not the prettiest. Spreading in every which direction, kinking up and smoothing out, intertwining with neighbors, creating the most chaotic pattern.  'Oh what a story this tree could tell,' I thought.  Tree roots are ususally so deep underground and so rarely exposed, I've never really stopped to think about how as much of a tree is hidden as is above ground.

My, oh my, what we really can't see.  So much more lies beneath, those sprawling and sturdy underground limbs holding us up, their curvy and bumpy path having hit so many blocks and with simply changing direction or merging with other roots for added strength, continuing on.  Above surface, we may look tall and strong, stable and steady, but underneath we are each on a chaotic and curvy path.  Perfectly straight roots would not yield such depth and lengths. Stubborn, on their own roots, would not be as strong without the melding and support of others.  What's underneath may be messy, may be wild, may be turbulent and disorganized, but only such courses can support a tree growing at a slant out of the water on an island.