Roots perform their most important work where admiration cannot reach them.

Everything visible about a tree depends on a structure nobody praises, in the dark, doing the unglamorous work of holding on and drawing water. The proportions are roughly even, and the half that gets the attention could not stand for a day without the half that gets none.

Look at what in your life is root work: the sleep, the reading, the maintenance of relationships, the quiet practice. It attracts no admiration and it is load-bearing. Protect it first when your time gets squeezed, because the visible part fails without it.