Hello again my friend,

There’s this thing that happens to plants called Root Bound. It’s when the roots have grown too large for their container, or it’s been in a container for too long. You can start seeing the roots come out from the tops and bottoms, and if the container is fragile, you start seeing cracks and breaks because the roots are trying to find room to grow and expand. 

There are places in your inner garden that may have become root bound. You have probably outgrown your container, and the roots are desperately looking for room to expand. But what happens a lot of the time is that we talk ourselves to stay in this containment by telling ourselves that we should be content. 

There is wisdom in knowing the difference between containment and contentment. 

This comes back to a question of life: Does this keep me alive, or do I feel like I’m slowing dying? 

This is paying attention to your inner garden. Containment, this root bound, slowly kills plants, it’s a suffocating situation… water is not getting to the roots because everything is too tight. 

Growth is an expansive feeling, and root bound feels constricting. 

We feel bad about wanting more. 

More growth, more health, more space, more opportunity. But this is the natural progression of a growing inner garden. It needs space to expand. But you get talked into being content. Be content with your little pot, even though your roots are breaking it, everything is straining because you just need more room to grow. But contentment doesn’t mean you can’t have more. Contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction. You can have the satisfaction that you have grown so much that now you need more space. 

Needing more space to grow doesn’t mean you are unsatisfied or unhappy, it’s just a state of being. 

Rescuing a plant from root bound isn’t easy. The process of replanting and repotting is messy, there’s usually not a neat way to do this. But if you want your plant to survive, your container will have to take a couple hits, and will probably not survive the transfer. You have to be ok with that. You have to break off the container, and tear apart all the roots that have bound together. You’ll find a bunch of little plants all crowded together, waiting to have their own space, so they can experience growth. Sometimes you can hear the roots tearing as you separate the plants to replant them… it sounds like you’re hurting them, but what’s happening is expansion.

Root bound literally dwarfs the plant, because the roots don’t get to pull in enough nutrients. You either need a bigger pot, or separate them into multiple pots. Anytime you have roots that are coming out of the top of the plant, you know you have a problem with containment. 

If the plant isn’t taken out of its small container, it will start to die. 

Because what happens is that the roots get hardened, and become like stone. Water and nutrients are no longer able to pass through the root system. It’s necessary for the plant to have roots that have soft, nutritious soil around them. 

The climate and environment could be ideal. 

The soil could be right. 

The water and care could be consistent. 

And yet. 

If the container is too small to accommodate all the growth that will happen, the plant will wither away. 

What would you say or do to a plant in your garden that has root bound? Would you tell it to be content? Be grateful for what you have? You have good climate, a good environment. Your soil is good. I give you enough water, care and attention. What more could you possibly want? 

There are many containers I’ve had to break out of in order to experience more growth and expansion for myself. Containers of identity, of religion, judgements, old stories, limiting beliefs and assumptions. 

I can tell you that at first, it feels disorienting, when you’ve been in one container for so long, to have that container broken, and then all your root systems being pulled in every direction. This stretching of your roots can feel painful, but it’s the only way you continue your growth. It’s the only way you ensure that water gets to your roots and they don’t become stone. It feels like you’re being torn to pieces, and you’ll start to think it might not actually be good for you. 

Everything is breaking apart. 

But this breakdown can never be skipped. If I was to breakthrough to new ground, to more depth and width, I had to address this problem of root bound. 

How does this root bound happen to you in the first place? Well, something tricky can happen. In moments when you are actually contained, you talk yourself into contentment. You have this suffocating feeling, you feel trapped, you have this thirst, a hunger. But you tell yourself that there’s a lot to be thankful for. After all, some plants don’t have any containers. Some plants don’t get any water. Some die in the first winter because they’re in the wrong climate. 

But let me tell you something. Your roots do not care. They do not care who has water, and who has not. They do not care about any of that. They are wired and meant for growth. They grow because they must. They grow because there isn’t anything else to do. You either grow, or whither. If you say you want your garden to be fully alive, then you must make room for your growth and expansion. You have been brought to a wide and open place. You just decide to corner yourself into one small space. 

It turns out that the purpose of a garden is to grow. 

To grow in EVERY DIRECTION. 

Plants that grow tall, roots that go deep, vineyards that grow wide. 

Turns out that the purpose of the garden isn’t to be as small, quiet, and contained as possible. 

Turns out that we plant gardens to burst and overflow with life, flavors, colors, and beauty. 

Turns out that contentment doesn’t have to stifle your growth. 

Turns out there are plants in your inner garden that just need more space.