A topic I´ve been meaning to write about, as I told you last week, is this idea of roots and wings.

I don´t remember when or where I heard this concept for the first time. What I do remember is that I thought it was a fascinating idea; back then, I asked my friend Oscar to draw an illustration to go along with a potential post on this topic. He replied by asking me to write the post first, for his inspiration, and things never went any further...

I believe today is the perfect day to finally write this post. Our "big little one" (my eldest niece, Ana) just got married; she just metaphorically flew the nest, and during the ceremony (which was beautiful by the way), the groom made a very emotional reference to the wings to fly and roots to return that their respective families had gifted them.

Searching the internet, I find it was Goethe who said there are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children: roots and wings. This makes me reflect on my own roots and wings, for which I´m forever grateful to my family, and also on the roots and wings I´m making a daily effort to pass on to my daughters. They are growing up in a different country, far away from most of their family, and to me, it´s essential that they integrate their Irish and Spanish sides, for them to find stability and strength in knowing who they are and where they come from, and be empowered to take their own steps in life with confidence.

Here is a picture representing my roots, my childhood´s "happy place", and another one that somehow represents my wings: the path I´ve walked on my own, the places I´ve reached ant the ones I will reach in the future.

(Apologies Ana and Javi for being a bit of a copycat showing the sea, it´s just that I also happen to live on an island 😉 )

Also on the internet, I´ve bumped into several quotes and poems on this topic, and I´ve chosen these two from the same author, I hope you like them:

The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.

Dennis Waitley

Roots and wings, by Dennis Waitley

If I had two wishes, I know what they would be
I’d wish for Roots to cling to, and Wings to set me free;
Roots of inner values, like rings within a tree,
And Wings of independence to seek my destiny.

Roots to hold forever to keep me safe and strong,
To let me know you love me, when I’ve done something wrong;
To show me by example, and help me learn to choose,
To take those actions every day to win instead of lose.

Just be there when I need you, to tell me it’s all right
To face my fear of falling when I test my wings in flight;
Don’t make my life too easy, it’s better if I try,
And fall and get back up myself, so I can learn to fly.

If I had two wishes, and the two to make me happy
And they could be granted by my Mum and Dad;
I wouldn’t ask for money or any shop bought things,
The greatest gifts I’d ask for are simply Roots and Wings.

Beautiful, isn´t it? How about you? What symbols or images represent your roots and wings?

P.S.- Congratulations Ana and Javi! You´re a living example of what it means to have roots and wings. I love you lots.