Radical Rooting

how a small invitation led to so much more

Feb 04, 2025

In SIITL No. 58, I referenced winter being a time for “deep work…root work.” A few days later an intuitive friend emailed to invite me to a weekend of root and retreat. As you can imagine, I was immediately hooked because “retreating” and “rooting” are two of my favorite things to do.

I clicked on the attached description in the email. Everything outlined sounded like something I would enjoy - yoga...meditation…basket weaving.

A small line caught my eye.

It said that the Latin word for “root” is radix, which actually means radical.
I paused.
To root is to be radical?

This is what I have been contemplating for the past twenty-six days.

Why is rooting radical?

And relatedly, how is retreating a necessary part of growth?

Here are my unedited notes:

For one, retreat is about renewal.
Retreat allows for reflection.
Something that is rooted stands firm.
To return to your roots, or to spend some time rooting, is to return to your center, your core, your source of stability.
To take root requires fertile soil.
My mind flits to the book, The Overstory, by Richard Powers, which explores the intricate relationship that can exist between humans and trees.
Both rooting and retreating are forms of quiet work. Now, I’m thinking of the beet in the picture. All of its formation took place underground. Things that grow underground are lessons in patience and timing.
Rooting + Retreating = (re)establishing interconnected networks of community…it’s about being in dialogue with your self and your surrounding ecosystem - humans, buildings, plants, pigeons, that noisy Blue Jay, pebbles, rivers, oceans, trees, rocks…

To retreat allows you to re-root, which in and of itself is a radical act in these busy times where the world seems set up to distract, throw us off course, and siphon our attention.

In other words, it is a small practice that allows us to reconnect to our core and community, and consciously tap into how we show up in this larger whole.

Here’s to rooting and retreating.

Wishing you all things good,

Tamara