054 Build the Support First
Hey Banyan, your branches reach so far that you drop roots from them to the ground, and each root grows into a trunk of its own.
Who else builds the support before growing any further?
Do you grow first, or build the support first?
In a village square stands a banyan so wide that a whole market fits in its shade.
Look closer. From its long branches, thin roots hang down like ropes. Some have reached the ground and grown thick as pillars.
What really happens
The banyan drops aerial roots from its branches. When they reach the soil, they thicken into trunk-like props.
These props hold up the long branches, so the tree can keep spreading outward. Some banyans cover a huge area this way.
How we know: Aerial prop roots of Ficus benghalensis are described in standard botany texts; the Great Banyan in Kolkata's botanical garden is a famous example.
The turn
Many of us grow fast and forget to build support: in our health, our money, our teams.
The banyan sends down a pillar before it reaches further.
Three takeaways
- Build the support before you stretch.
- Every reach needs a root.
- Wide growth needs many pillars, not one trunk.
Drop a root, then reach.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.