Soaring by Marilynne Eichinger
Roots Hold Me Tight
There is a song I sing to life that has a phrase in it that says, “roots hold me tight, wings set me free.” Those words keep circling through my mind as the protests, riots, and brutal responses by federal forces keep me awake at night with flash grenades and helicopters orbiting overhead. I lay in bed thinking about the roots that hold people tight and what it takes to acquire wings to be set free to soar. And, I try to imagine what would happen if everyone was free.
My thoughts about roots coalesced quickly, for I believe people are held tight by love, pride, and prejudice. My family held me close with their love. And, they indoctrinated me to feel pride in my heritage, community and country. That pride was strengthened by the prejudice some relatives expressed against people of color, those they labeled “white trash,” Germans who allowed six million Jews die in death camps, religious fundamentalists, and ignorant people who don’t question. By putting people down, they elevated our family to a higher plain.
I imagine that love, pride, and prejudice in one form or another, hold most people tight during childhood. The wings that carry them to freedom are acquired over time by living fully.
George Floyd’s murder shook many people free from root-bound prejudices about people of color and the legal system. It enabled them to fly over military forces through the lens of the media and see them attacking their own countrymen and women. It opened their ears to what is being said in newscasts about injustices and slights to African-Americans. They’re taking stock of the perils of dictatorship and what happens when leaders lie.
I discovered freedom through studies in anthropology and psychology and by observing the way my physician father treated black, white, poor and middle class patients alike. I came to understood that people analyze what they take in through a lens that is unique to them and gained my first set of wings that let me soar high and look down at the depth and breadth of humanity. Science museums provided me with a second set of wings to send me staring into the universe until I realized I am less than a particle of dust in the grand scheme of things.
Loosening shackles and flying freely brings with it responsibility. Breaking free from chains that cause doubts in your own abilities and living without fear of making mistakes requires you to be strong enough to make your own decisions. Yet, the freedom to love yourself, to pursue dreams, to travel to experience life fully, and to deepen relationships carries constraints. If every person was free without limitations or controls there would be anarchy.
The Declaration of Independence, a document written to confirm that thirteen colonies were free from Great Britain did not acknowledge the land taken from the Native peoples already here. A person’s freedom can easily encroach on another person’s rights, which is why our country developed laws to govern based on democratic principles. Wings break, causing fliers to fall from the sky when rules are not honored.
My roots that are built of love remain strong, tight and nurturing, and when I find weak ones filled with pride and prejudice, I cut them off. I use my wings to soar above the clouds occasionally, knowing I have a secure landing spot to return to after venturing forth. When flying, I’m aware there are others in the air and that the success of my flight depends on their success as well.
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Art is always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com
Soaring- acrylic on canvas / gold frame / 38” x 49” / $750
