You’re not lost, you just need to re-root.

I’m not one to believe in more than science or what earth has shown us, but I’m beginning to realize the paradox of being ‘lost’.

I think as humans we feel lost most of the time, we never know our purpose, we’re passionate about a lot but can’t seem to grasp the importance of it. Everything seems to lack meaning and in that we try to find meaning. Doesn’t that sound exhausting? I don’t know about you, but a lot of the time that’s my reality.

What if being ‘lost’ is our purpose at that moment in time? Being lost is an opportunity to find ourselves a little bit more. It’s a chance re-root ourselves.

I’m reading a book about anxiety, “First, We Make the Beast Beautiful” by Sarah Wilson (I highly recommend). In it she talks about how we’re endlessly anxious over what we can’t see or control; over a feeling or some sort of non-tangible thing. It’s interesting to think humans minds are so hyper active that we’re able to be worried about things that quite literally don’t matter. We all want “happiness” but is wanting it really going to help us achieve it? Is worrying about it going to make it easier? Probably not. I know that these words don’t help someone’s anxiety because anxiety is irrational and often times it comes whether we like it or not. What I’m saying is, create a mantra around it.

Does it really matter? Yes (or no). Will worrying about it make it easier? No. Should I put my energy towards something else? Yes.

I went to a university counsellor in first year and though she wasn’t the most empathetic, she did offer an interesting piece of advice to me. Whenever I get overly anxious, she said to think “what’s the worst that could happen from this?” For context, I had bleached some towels my mom bought me when I was dying my hair and I felt so horrible. In the grand scheme of things, the worst thing that can happen is my mom is frustrated for maybe a day then we would forget about it. And hey, they’re still functional towels to this day. Not worth the headache.

Now, re-rooting is a different concept than just feeling lost and anxious. Do you ever get frustrated with people who complain but refuse to do anything about their problems? Sometimes I just want to scream at them, “if you’re not happy, change something! Take action!” I mean, there’s also listening to people opening up and being there for them. For this example, consider this person endlessly oversharing and complaining about their perfectly fine life.

Re-rooting is the action you take when you’re lost.

I recently met a life coach and she said to me the other day, “we’re never lost, we just need to re-root.” It was one of those “YAS” moments. Feeling lost is one of the worst things ever and often leads us into a depressive state. Not feeling a sense of purpose is unbearable.

I would consider re-rooting as finding purpose in small acts then thanking yourself for those acts and increasing them in scale with time. Re-rooting requires a sense of self-care and self-love. It requires us to realize we might not know our purpose right now but it is out there and it’ll come to us. I know it sounds far out but it is so much easier to live that way than to search for something you may never find, or to feel anxious about something you can’t see, touch, or even know exists.

To close off, because this is a very long post, here is a professional definition of re-rooting:

To root again, or in a new place. - ‘Your Dictionary’

I don’t find that satisfying at all.

How about this:

Re-rooting [re rooT-ING]

The act of being conscious of your surroundings and finding purpose within them.

Example:

“I re-rooted myself this morning when I took a walk and set my intentions for the day. I will re-root and accept that today is for me. I will make myself feel amazing today.” 

Drop mic.