3 - Rooted Life

Summary

According to ancient Hebrew tradition, human beings are soil that is divinely animated. This suggests that humanity cannot thrive apart from the earth that inspires and nurtures its life. Recent discoveries in soil science and human physiology indicate that the necessity and intimacy of humanity’s attachments to soil are greater than we might suppose. People are “rooted” beings. This chapter explores what the lives of plants have to teach us about the character of this rootedness, and thus argues that human life is not only animal but also plant in its nature. This is not a reduction of humans to plants but an opening to rethinking what is required of people if they are to live long and well in their places.