Roots or Wings?

 "Wings are important but so are the roots", said the dean of my college in her speech at one of the department functions. This led my classmate sitting beside me to ask, "what do you think is more important, wings or roots?" And all I said was "both". But that question stayed with me. As I lay in bed and reflected over my day the question came back to me.

I couldn't pick one, but there was one image in the back of my mind. A flock of birds migrating. Maybe it was the word ‘wings’ that brought that image, but when I was thinking about the question, I remembered that although family or in this case my roots are a very strong value to me, I chose wings and the only thing I could relate it to was migrating birds. Birds choose to migrate when there is a lack of chances of survival. They migrate when the climate in their current living situation gets hard to live in or when the availability of food gets uncertain. They move to lands where they believe there is a better chance at survival.

Their migration spots may change based on distance, weather, availability of food, or even their physical strength. But at the end they come back home, to their breeding grounds. The great flamingo travels miles from Europe, Africa and the Middle East to India; by March and April they began their journey back. 

Different people will have different answers to this question. Freedom and independence are important values to me as well, I have not made big life changing choices but there are moments I choose roots over wings and others where I choose wings over roots. My guiding compass being, who am I? What do I want? And is it realistic? Whenever I choose wings, I think about ways I can compensate for leaving back my roots, and if I will be able to give back to my roots. When I choose roots over wings, I do it knowing that I will get opportunities to learn with this choice or I will be able to fly later if not now. I don't want to keep flying, I carry some parts of my roots with me at all times. It is my roots that ground me, and give me rest.

Even as I write this I realise, not all get to choose. For some the decision is made by the family or life circumstances. Some have to be on the ground for most of their lives. Some thrive here, others don't. On the other hand, some are constantly flying and running, because of what someone said, their life experiences or circumstances in life. 

This brings me to where I started, roots or wings, what is important? It differs from person to person, both are important for different reasons or similar reason in different ways. The question is what is important to you?

– Alloysha Dias 

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