Root Systems: How Resistance Grows in Community
Exploring the unseen networks of mutual support, solidarity, and collective thriving.
🌬️ Before we begin… let’s root.
Wherever you are, take a moment to pause.
Place your feet on the floor—or press your palms into something solid.
Close your eyes if that feels safe.
Let’s take three deep, slow breaths together:
Inhale — Let the breath travel down, down, into the unseen parts of you.
Exhale — Let go of whatever is pulling you away from the now.
Inhale — Call back your energy from the edges.
Exhale — Imagine it sinking into the soil beneath you.
Inhale — Breathe in your right to be held.
Exhale — Settle into this moment. You are here. We are here.
Place your hand over your chest or belly. Whisper to yourself:
“I do not grow alone. I do not heal alone. I do not bloom alone.”
And if you need a soundtrack to carry you through this reading, I created a curated playlist for this month—music to remind you that our roots have rhythm, our grief has harmony, and our joy deserves melody.
Now, let’s begin.
Because this isn't just an article—it’s a re-grounding. A (re)membering. A returning.
“The most important things in life grow underground—quietly, communally, and often unseen.”
We love the bloom.
We celebrate what’s visible.
But every flower, every uprising, every sacred transformation began with something buried.
And today, we honor the roots.
Not just yours—but ours.
The collective root system we inherit, we build, and we nourish together.
Because here’s the truth that dominant culture avoids:
Liberation doesn’t grow in isolation.
It thrives in networks. In mycelial magic. In mutual aid. In sacred reciprocity.
So let’s talk about how resistance really spreads—
Through community as infrastructure.
Through relationships as resilience.
Through interdependence as rebellion.
The Myth of the Solitary Bloom
We’ve been conditioned to view resistance as an individual act of bravery.
The lone hero. The single disruptor. The “strong one” who carries the weight for everyone.
But that myth is a trap.
It erases the invisible hands holding us.
It devalues the soft labor of support—of food dropped off, prayers whispered, rides offered, kids watched, bail funds raised.
It centers visibility over sustainability.
It builds movements like skyscrapers instead of root systems—and then wonders why they collapse.
But we know better.
We know that behind every bloom is a vast, unseen system of nourishment.
We are not self-made. We are soil-grown. We are community-built.
Community Is Not a Buzzword. It’s a Life System.
When we talk about community in this space, we’re not talking about shared location.
We’re talking about shared responsibility.
Shared grief. Shared dreaming. Shared breath.
Resistance grows strongest in networks—when we create conditions where healing is mutual, not transactional.
When we understand that reciprocity is not a favor—it’s a function of liberation.
And yet, capitalism trains us to think otherwise:
That we must “earn” support.
That we must struggle alone to be taken seriously.
That we are burdens if we ask for help.
Let’s call that what it is:
An extraction mindset designed to keep us isolated and easily exploited.
But roots don’t compete—they intertwine.
They share nutrients. They warn each other of danger.
They make the soil richer for everyone connected.
Resistance Is Built Beneath the Surface
When people ask, “Where are the movements now?”
I tell them: they are underground, just like always.
We are building in kitchens, gardens, WhatsApp chats, healing circles, liberation cohorts, and backyard potlucks.
We are learning to thrive in networks, not institutions.
And yes—it’s slower this way.
It’s less flashy.
But it’s more sustainable.
Because when the storm comes, roots hold.
So ask yourself this:
Who nourishes your resistance?
Who are you in reciprocal relationship with?
Who do you call when you forget you are sacred?
From Individualism to Interbeing
We are no longer in the era of the lone revolutionary.
We are in the era of co-weaving.
Of shared fire. Of decentralized vision. Of mutual roots growing toward liberation.
That’s what this space—Liberation Education—has always been.
Not a platform.
A root system.
And it’s time to nourish it.
Integration: Questions to Ground With
Take these into your journal, your voice notes, your community circle:
Where in my life do I perform independence instead of practicing interdependence?
What networks do I nourish—and which ones do I take from without replenishing?
What would it look like to weave mutuality into my daily rituals?
This is sacred work. Come root with us.
If you’re reading this as a free subscriber:
This is just the topsoil.
What lives beneath—the Saturday Liberation Lessons, the midweek practices, the community containers—is designed to support your full, embodied bloom.
We’d love for you to root in with us.
$8/month
$80/year
$120/year as an equity partner
Scholarships available (always). Just ask. Scholarships@DesireeBStephens.com
Because we don’t bloom alone. We bloom in networks.