The Roots Upon Which We Are Founded
What is hidden is often what is most important
The most important part of a plant is the part you do not see. Below the surface of the life-giving dirt, exists an endless network of strands, threads, and nodules, all silently forcing their way through the cracks and pores of the underworld. Though occasionally — through some happenstance of nature: a landslide, cliff-face erosion, or a burrowing creature — these filaments become exposed to the sun, for the most part they labour away in perpetual darkness, without praise or accolade. But though we may be blissfully unaware of them in our everyday experience, we all are well aware of what I am cryptically talking about: roots.
Without roots, a plant would be nothing, whether it be the tiniest flower hidden away in the leaf litter or the tallest redwood in the cathedral grove. Without roots, a plant would be fatally susceptible to the faintest breeze of the wind; with roots, there is the chance it will endure the fiercest of storms. Without roots, the dimmest shining of the sun would cause a plant to quickly wither and perish; with roots, it can draw down to deep waters and outlast a scorching drought. Without roots, a plant has no hope of growth; with roots, it can convert invisible nutrients into visible beauty.
Without roots, a plant would be nothing. And so too, would we. For the life-giving seeds, fruits, and fibres of plants are what sustain our own lives. Plants form the bedrock of our food chains and food systems (matters of primary political social, and financial importance) and always will, no matter the fantasies of ecomodernists and venture capitalists with their biofermentors.1 May we never forget that our empires and principalities; civilisations and nations, are all founded upon these tiny, hidden, inconspicuous roots.
The hidden things of life may well be the most imperative, but by nature of their obscurity they are often ignored or neglected. Everyone knows that beauty can be deceptive: an attractive appearance can cover a multitude of vices, but few and far between are those sages who seek to know the hidden, obscure things of life. The most important part of a man or woman is their virtue, their character, their faith. Things that cannot be seen, quantified, or monetised. Without them, a man will be blown about by every wind of philosophy, opinion, trial, and tribulation — unstable, unpredictable, and undependable in all his ways. With virtue, with faith, with noble character, a man can weather the fiercest storms of life and leave his small corner of this vast world a better place than when he found it. Beauty or athletic prowess may make a woman famous the world over but empty inside; steadfastness, kindness, humility, and an open heart may make her “famous for 15 miles”2 — and full and overflowing on the inside.
In the natural world all around us, it is also the hidden things (beyond just plant roots) that are of primary importance. The relationships and connections that hold everything in balance and keep energy flowing through an ecosystem are invisible, and at times, incomprehensible, even to the wisest ecologist. Without the balance or equilibrium that these relationships uphold, the ecosystem would collapse and fundamentally change state or become overrun with generalist or invasive species — neither is an ideal state of affairs. This is one of the myriad reasons why extinction is such a catastrophe. The loss of any single species may just be the final straw that leads to its disaster. Unbeknown to us, this species may have been the keystone holding the whole edifice together, and its death unravels the community of life. Now that it is gone, change ramifies through the system like a bull in a china shop, breaking or altering every relationship and natural cycle in its path. What once was a paradise can become a desolate wasteland3 — all through the loss of one seemingly insignificant species. Every time we cause an extinction or expatriation, we are thus taking this gigantic and irreversible gamble.4
What we cannot see is often the most important. Do not dismiss, therefore, the unseen; neither destroy what appears empty or insignificant. Do not be so unwise as to judge a man, plant, or beast by mere appearances alone — or what is unseen may prove you the fool. Remember, the foundations that uphold your life are hidden in the earth beneath every step that you take — so tread lightly.
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Further reading
Gary Snyder to Wendell Berry.
This is not to suggest that every extinction event will have far reaching ecological ramifications. Some species may be lost with little or no change to the system due to functional redundancy. But, unique beauty and ingenuity is lost with the loss of each species — which is a tragedy of monumental proportions.
"...steadfastness, kindness, humility, and an open heart may make her “famous for 15 miles”..."
I love this line so much! An excellent goal in life - to have a "full and overflowing" heart and a reputation for kindness.
Metaphoric roots, like physical ones, cannot be identified as THE root; as in the love of money is the root of all evil.