Grow Where You Are Planted

There’s a saying that’s been echoing in my heart lately: grow where you are planted.

For so much of my life, I was drawn to the romantic notion of travel — the open road, distant shores, far-off adventures that promised meaning or renewal. But what I’ve come to see is that there are two kinds of travel. There’s the journey across landscapes, and then there’s the journey into other people’s worlds.

The second kind doesn’t require a plane ticket. It can happen right by an outdoor fire, or in a small bunkie under the stars. You can travel through stories, through connection, through listening deeply to another person’s experience. The adventure is not always out there; it is often right here — in the quiet conversations, the shared silences, the simple acts of being present.

To grow where you are planted is to recognize that the soil beneath you, no matter how humble, is enough for something beautiful to bloom. The miracle is not in the destination, but in the depth with which we root where we stand.