086 Share What You Dug For
Hey Old Tree, at night you pull water up from deep down and let it go into the dry topsoil, where the young roots around you can reach it.
Who taught you to share what you had to dig that deep for?
Will you share what you had to dig so deep for?
In the dry season, a big old tree stands in a parched field. The topsoil is cracked.
At night, near its trunk, the ground is just a little damp.
What really happens
Some trees with deep roots draw water up from deep soil at night and release some of it into the drier topsoil near the surface.
Scientists call this hydraulic lift. Nearby shallow-rooted plants can take up some of that water.
How we know: Hydraulic lift was measured in the 1980s and 1990s by researchers such as Caldwell and Dawson, and has since been found in many species.
The turn
What we get through hard effort, we often guard for ourselves.
The old tree shares, at night, with the young roots around it.
Three takeaways
- Share what you worked hard to gain.
- Your depth can water someone's shallowness.
- Mentors are trees that lift water.
Dig deep. Share at night.
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.