Roots of the Rise
Grounded wisdom for the journey inward and upward.
Roots of the Rise is a soul-centered podcast hosted by Sarah Hope—Ayurvedic health practitioner, spiritual mentor, meditation teacher, biodynamic craniosacral therapist, and energy healer. Drawing from thousands of hours of client work, group facilitation, and her own journey through childhood trauma, grief, and the profound rediscovery of love and joy, Sarah offers a grounded, heart-led space for inner transformation.
Short, daily episodes (10–20 minutes) offer bite-sized insights, ideas, and practices for inner growth and self-development. Whether you're seasoned on the path or just beginning to explore, this podcast gives you digestible nuggets to stay inspired—without overwhelm. It’s perfect for those who want to stay engaged in the work, curious newcomers feeling overloaded by long-form content, or anyone wanting to understand a loved one's journey from a broader, more accessible perspective.
Sarah’s intention is to expose you to a wide range of spiritual concepts, therapeutic tools, philosophies, and practices—all in service of helping you become the healthiest, happiest, most authentic version of yourself. The journey can be hard. It can feel lonely. But you’re not alone. Come walk this path with her—learning, healing, and rising, one grounded step at a time.
Roots of the Rise
Episode 36 - Do The Math: Why That Visit Home Matters More Than You Think
The math doesn't lie, and sometimes we need numbers to shake us awake. When was the last time you calculated how many more visits you might have with your aging parents? Your favorite aunt? Your childhood best friend?
Confront the finite nature of our relationships by doing some simple arithmetic. If your parents are in their sixties and might live until their eighties, that's potentially 20 more years together. But how many actual visits does that translate to? For many of us who live at a distance, the answer might be shockingly small - perhaps just 12 more Christmases, 20 more birthdays, or a handful of long weekends. These concrete numbers can transform how we prioritize our time, resources, and energy.
Take a moment today to do your own relationship math. Then ask yourself: Is that number enough? And if not, what will you do differently? Subscribe to continue this journey of self-reflection and authentic living as we explore what truly matters in our limited time together.
Welcome to Roots of the Rise with me, sarah Hope. How old are your parents, or your favorite aunt or your best friend? How many years do you have left together and how many times are you going to make it a priority to see them? Is that number enough? Let's talk about it. In the past 36 hours, a friend of mine lost someone to violence. The TV show I was watching depicted a father's sudden death from heart attack, and Facebook reminded me that it's the anniversary of me planting a lilac bush in memory of my own parental loss. All signs point to me talking about grief, but really I want to talk about making time.
Speaker 1:We all know death is inevitable. Intellectually, we understand that it can happen at any moment. We tell ourselves to seize opportunities to cherish our loved ones while we can, to express how much we love them while we can, and yet until we experience an unexpected loss, that knowledge isn't really fully integrated. On some level, we still believe that there will be more time. You hear that so often. I thought there would be more time. Life is full of distractions. We all have like responsibilities and routines and financial constraints, you know, all making it really easy to put off seeing the people we care about, and that's just the ones we get along with navigating time with the people we love but have a real struggle with. That's a conversation for another day, but for now I just want to bring a simple awareness to you. Death feels intangible, but time is real. It's measurable.
Speaker 1:So today I'm going to ask you to do a little very simple math. It's worth it to ground this awareness into your system. So I want you to think about your parents, or anyone older than you whom you care deeply about, someone whose presence in your life really matters. So bring that person to mind. And then, how old are they? For this example, I'll use my third grade teacher, who I am very close with. It's a long story, but she's one of my favorite people in the world. She is 83. Best case scenario how many more years do we have together?
Speaker 1:I looked this up and the average life expectancy in the US is about 80 for women and 75 for men, which actually really shocked me. I don't know, I thought it was going to be higher than that, and of course, many factors affect this. But let's just say I'm fortunate enough to have her until she's 95. That gives me 12 more years with her. I see her once a year. That means at best I have 12 more visits, just 12 more visits with her. Now, when we see each other, we spend a good amount of time. I mean, the last time we grabbed lunch, I think we were there for three hours, but even then 12 more times, three hours each. This is why I never skip my yearly trip north. It's why I take her call whenever I can and make a point to talk to her at least once a month, because I want every single one of those 144 phone calls and because not a single one of them is guaranteed.
Speaker 1:Now I encourage you to do this math for yourself. If your loved ones live nearby, this exercise may not hit as hard. But if you've moved away, if seeing your parents, your family, your childhood best friend, if all of that takes effort and expense and you're hesitating about making the time or spending the money, do the math. If your parents are in their 60s and they live till their 80s, how many times are you going to see them in that 20-year span? Is that enough for you?
Speaker 1:Sometimes travel isn't possible. Life gets in the way. But you know we live in a time where technology gives us some options. Facetime exists. A simple call can bridge the distance. When we had our son, my husband and I started FaceTiming his parents weekly and even though our son only saw them in person a couple times a year, he knew them Because of all that time having quote unquote dinner together over video calls. They weren't just voices on the phone, they were a part of his world. He recognized them when we saw them.
Speaker 1:My point is that sometimes we need numbers to remind us of what we're not prioritizing. Maybe it's time to take that trip, to spend that vacation with family, instead of something that maybe feels more fun is a little more enticing, instead of something that maybe feels more fun is a little more enticing. You know, best case. Find a way to do both. Take a trip with those people. Just think about it and do the math.
Speaker 1:If you liked today's episode, please like, share, subscribe. I think tomorrow I'm going to give you a quick roundup of a couple podcasts I've recently listened to and loved. I hope you have a great rest of your day and remember, know who you are, love who you've been and be willing to do the work to become who you want to be. I am an Ayurvedic health practitioner, spiritual counselor, meditation teacher, energy healer and biodynamic craniosacral therapist, with thousands of hours of training in these modalities and more. I'm here to help you discover as many different ideas, therapies, philosophies, spiritual concepts and inner development tools as possible in order to help you become the healthiest, happiest, most authentic version of yourself possible. I'm excited to be on this journey with you. It can be hard at times, and there are moments you may feel stuck and very alone. I'm excited to be on this journey with you. It can be hard at times, and there are moments you may feel stuck and very alone. I'm here to tell you you're not. Come with me. Let's learn and grow together.
