Growing and Reaching Higher

 We had just celebrated in the Jewish calendar the value of trees in our lives. People are likened to trees. A tree with the right balance between the size of its roots and its branches will grow up straight and strong, and won’t sway with winds coming its way. Similarly, a wise person who doesn’t sit with the company of fools knows his roots and lives an ethical life. With his great ideas and good deeds, he can change his life for the better and change the world at large.
A tree that has branches wider than its roots might topple over. So is a shallow person who promises but doesn’t deliver, doesn’t have good habits and shows poor behavior with his actions. He might encounter a hard time staying grounded in order to reach his full potential. Therefore, teaching a child from a young age to grow with good values can insure her good character and healthy growth.
“A person is like a tree of the field”. We grow like trees and, like them, we die too. But as long as a tree is alive, it grows ever higher. We too aspire to grow and develop, acquire wisdom and live in a good environment. Being surrounded by people who love us, share our values and support our actions encourages us to be our very best.
What weeds should you pull from your surroundings that are preventing you from growing strong and healthy and keeping you from reaching your full potential? Do you have a positive influence in your environment and are you getting and giving the nourishment needed to have a prolific, meaningful, and bountiful life? Do you love yourself enough to plan your growth? Find the tools you need to do what’s important in your life. Connect to your roots, seek wisdom, follow through with good actions, overcome your challenges and resist those high winds that sway you from staying grounded. Keep growing and always try to reach higher!
Naomi Young is a writer and an artist who lives in Santa Clarita. She’s been teaching Judaic studies and Hebrew for 35 years and has prepared hundreds of students for their bar/ bat mitzvahs.
If you would like to get in touch, please email: naomiyoung7@yahoo.com and if you would like to learn more visit www.naomiyoung.com.