Joined at the Roots

April 13, 2021
Oakland, CA
Sunny and Warm

Walking past the flower-filled front-yard gardens on Lakeshore Avenue near my apartment in Oakland, I suddenly stopped, arrested by the sight of two palm trees, which had grown together but had remained separate. Emerging from the ground, their roots had grown into a living container about a foot high, from which their two trunks had grown in close proximity, but separately. They were mature trees, the trunk of each one a foot in diameter, the right-hand tree with a rough, shingled bark and the left with a smooth, slightly shiny bark. Their fronds spread luxuriously together, creating a wide, shady space beneath them. I felt that they had given themselves to each other, a tree-marriage, showing us just what marriage could look like, how it could provide peace and shelter to wandering birds or squirrels – or pedestrians passing by.

The peace was sinking into my bones and I began to visualize what was happening underground, how the roots of two different trees had joined together to create the home for this holy marriage. Roots with different heredity, different ways of communication, different ideas had cooperated to create an offspring greater than either one alone. There must have been a lot of communicating and hand-holding underground, perceived by no one, but without which there would have been no beautiful marriage above ground.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the support of entwined roots to create a marriage, the roots of two different strains of heredity, to impart their strength and experience to the two individuals who have given themselves to become one. The two do not create their peace alone. They partake of the love and wisdom of their respective roots to become a blessing for their families, friends, and communities.

In Oneness,
Dorothy Deviani

What I am reading: “The Adventure of Consciousness” by Satprem

What I would like to see: “Underground Railroad”