Answers: Where are you rooted?
Why Sense of Place is Important to Resilience
Sense of Place provides a feeling of “home” – an anchoring harbor where one can find safety, even in turbulent times. For a person relying on resilience, it establishes an auto-righting capability, forged from candid self-appraisal, straight thinking, and value-based rootedness. Grounded in humility and informed by facts, one is less likely to be buffeted by adverse conditions and more likely, with stability of presence and focus, to develop a realistic and actionable perspective on life’s issues and challenges.
When you know and respect your inner nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don’t belong. —Benjamin Hoff
Without a Strong Sense of Place …
Without a strong, positive Sense of Place … you may feel unsettled and on shifting ground when assessing or deciding appropriate courses of action. Alongside this, you may experience doubt and hesitation in making commitments to others.
The soul wants to keep us rooted in the ground of our own being, resisting the tendency of other faculties, like the intellect and the ego, to uproot us from who we (truly) are. —Parker J. Parker
Action Planning
If you want to develop your Sense of Place further … you can begin by identifying the sources of “solid ground” in your life and evaluating how well you are safeguarding these special places for when you need to seek safety and security.
Possible Actions – Perceive & Ponder
- Take time to identify and reflect on your sources of stability – the ‘solid ground’ in your life.
- Contemplate where you feel most ‘at home’ and the people you feel most ‘at home’ with.
Possible Actions – Engage & Connect
- Consider actions that could increase, strengthen, or protect your sources of stability.
- Identify or establish a safety net – elaborating a plan for vulnerable areas in your life in case something goes wrong.
Possible Actions – Plan & Pursue
- Deliberately spend more time in the place(s) and with the people where you feel most ‘at home.’
- Stay grounded through the activities you are passionate about and connections that strengthen you, such as exercise, hobbies, church and/or faith groups, community involvement.
Heartstrings hold tighter than the roots of a live oak tree holdin’ through tornado winds … —Alison Krauss, Heartstrings
