With Deep roots, you grow a tall tree

Last night, I was using a steam meditation game called Playne. Every so often, the fox next to your fire will drop some very sage wisdom. The wisdom I received last night was the title of this post: With deep roots, you grow a tall tree.

Selecting the option to inquire deeper, fox explained that the more difficulty you experience, the deeper you go, and the more happiness you experience, the higher you go.

This struck such a chord with me. All my life, I've experienced hardships that I would not wish upon my greatest enemies. Even though I've had plenty of reasons to give up, I didn't.

I say this not to boast, but to show you where I come from. In this post, I'm going to relate my experiences with this quote so you can see how with deep roots, you grow a tall tree.

1. No light without dark

In this life, everything has an equal and opposite counterpart. Hungry and full, wet and dry, hot and cold, light and dark. Happiness is no different.

I firmly believe that you can't know happiness if you don't know sadness, despair, or grief. Yet, so many modern people actively live lives where they avoid turmoil in the pursuit of happiness.

After the hell I went through in my younger years, I had a moment of serene peace one day. I was 19 years old when I decided to go outside for a stroll at my local park on a blissfully sunny day. A few rolling clouds, a gentle breeze, bright blue skies, and the sun shining.

As I was rolling along, I unconsciously took a deep breath. The moment before that, I felt completely normal. The moment after, it was as if pure tranquility washed over me. I couldn't help but smile and appreciate the beautiful day in a way I'd never done before.

In order for your roots to go deep enough, you must be able to withstand the winter in your life so you can enjoy the spring.

2. The view is always its best with good company

There are plenty of resources in this age that all prove the same conclusion: the secret to a long, happy life is strong relationships. Reaching the top of the mountain is almost pointless if you can't share the view, the adventure, or the story with somebody else. 

 When I think back to my days of being depressed and suicidal, the main reason I was depressed was that I felt like I was all alone even though I was surrounded by people. I had nobody I felt I could share what I was going through with. 

Contrast that with my high school days in band class; we did all our rehearsals together, we went to festivals together, we'd hang out in the band room and have fun before our concerts together, and we'd go on trips together. It's as if we were a tight-knit family.

My favorite moment was at my first jazz festival. We had just finished performing and we were all hungry. So we ordered Chinese food to be delivered to the venue for us. There was so much that there were tin containers full of it, and everybody else walking by was shocked by the amount of it.

It was a Friday and there was meat in the food, so being the catholic school students we were one of us instantly pointed out, "Guess we gotta go to confession later!" That food was so tasty, and the company I ate it with was even better.

To truly grow a tall tree, understand that it is a collaboration effort, not a solo gig.

3. Tall trees and deep roots require quality soil

A secret about mental health a lot of people don't know is your environment. Optimizing your environment helps you to nourish your tree and its roots.

It's said that your environment is a reflection of your mind. However clean or messy your surrounding space is, your mind is that way too.

What a lot of people don't realize is that it also works in reverse. Optimizing your environment can also serve to optimize your mind.

After I graduated high school, I went to college right away as society told me I should. I had always done well in high school, so surely college wouldn't be too difficult, right? In my defense, I did choose the most competitive trade school in all of British Columbia (BCIT), but that doesn't change how horrible my mental health became.

Days would start as early as 8:30 and end at around 5:30. We had homework from at least four classes at a time, and to make it all worse, the subjects were either dry, complicated, or both.

The result of this is that my mental health took a nose dive, and my physical health went with it. When I went to go see my doctor, she said I looked like a zombie. It wasn't long after that visit that I dropped out.

All of a sudden, I had so much free time on my hands. At first, I spent it playing video games, but that quickly got old. I started working out, meditating, and learning the stuff I actually wanted to learn.

Within about two weeks, I started noticing changes. I had more energy and less brain fog, my confidence was increasing, and I was actually excited to learn for once. This is the kind of lifestyle I've held onto ever since, and I'm so glad for it.

In order for your tree to grow tall with deep roots, you must plant it in a high-quality environment with rich soil.

"The darker the night, the brighter the stars" - Braum, League of legends

Many people avoid hardship in the name of happiness, yet those same exact people end up drifting through life or end up miserable with no way out. Men especially must go through hardship, for men are forged through the discomfort they experience.  

In order to grow deep roots, you must experience hardships that challenge the stability of your roots. If you refuse to be uprooted in your darkest times, your tree will grow tall.