Roots

When I first started working for my parents, all of the office plants were either dead, or on the verge of death. They looked pathetic and in need of some serious love and attention. I re-potted some, I watered them all and some, I fertilized.

I recently planted a couple of young aloe plants in a pot and I've been watching them closely. At first, they weren't doing too well and I couldn't understand. I thought maybe the office was just bad luck. Then my aunt mentioned that aloe doesn't grow roots unless you water it from the bottom. Since I started this, they have really begun to thrive.

It's amazing some things in our lives that make the biggest impressions. The significance of nourishing the roots to make the aloe strong has really made me re-evaluate my training and where my focus is. Nature inspires me in complex ways.

I have spent the last two weeks with the Orange/Green class and I really tried to focus on the basics. I felt it would be valuable to spend our time focusing on our root system, in order to improve all of our skills. I made a point in one of the classes that I don't work on my horse stance to pass any tests or because anyone tells me I need to. I work on my horse stance for myself, because it affects everything else that I practice. Every time I step into the stance, I evaluate how it feels and how I can improve it.

I'm not saying that having a large and diverse syllabus is not valuable, but we need to recognize the roots in all of the things that we practice. The techniques in the syllabus are all just tools for developing our six harmonies. And in order to do that, we must make sure we're practicing with mindfulness and the right intentions.