The Roots of Our City: Weaving History, Resilience, and Love

I recently had my annual doctor’s appointment in Charlotte. As I was leaving Atrium Health—which many locals still call CMC—I smiled when I spotted a sandcastle emblem on a license plate. Atrium’s logo is the Tree of Life, a symbol with roots in ancient times.

But as I looked at that logo, I thought of something deeper I’ve been learning from Dr. Anita Phillips.

Dr Phillips points out that we actually carry a “tree” inside of us: the Vagus Nerve.

This nerve is the biological “Tree of Life.” It starts in the brain and branches down into the heart and the gut, acting as the highway between our minds and our bodies. It is the physiological root system of our peace. When the world around us is chaotic, our “internal tree” can become brittle. To bear good fruit in our lives—joy, resilience, and love—we must look at the soil this tree is planted in.

The Sacred Ground Beneath the Stadium

In Charlotte, that soil has a complex history. I recently learned that the Bank of America Stadium sits on the site of Charlotte’s first private hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, built for the Black community. Established in 1891, “Good Sam” was a place of healing and growth. Yet, in August 1913, it became a site of trauma when a young man named Joe McNeely was taken from his hospital bed and lynched by a mob. Today, it is estimated that this site sits near the Panthers’ 40-yard line.

When we think of Dr. Anita’s “Garden Within,” we realize that trauma isn’t just in the past; it lingers in the soil. If the Vagus Nerve is our internal tree, it senses the safety of our environment. For generations, the “soil” of our city was made unsafe for many, affecting the very nervous systems of those trying to survive and heal.

Keep Pounding: Regulating the Heart

There is a profound spiritual irony that this ground is now home to the “Keep Pounding” motto. Sam Mills’ call to never give up is essentially a call to keep the Vagus Nerve—our internal tree—resilient. “Keep Pounding” isn’t just about physical strength; it’s about the emotional and spiritual determination to keep the heart open even when the “Soil” is hard.

It is the philosophy of a community that refuses to let trauma have the final word. We regulate our nervous systems not by ignoring the pain, but by “pounding” through it with commitment and faith.

The “God Wink” and the Power of Love

Returning to that sandcastle license plate: it sparked a flood of wonderful beach memories. That evening, I experienced what I call a “God Wink”: a five-year-old memory popped up on my phone—a photo of my father and me at the ocean. In the photo, I am wearing a shirt that says LOVE, and his says OCEANPOINT.

Dr. Anita Phillips teaches that “the heart is the soil,” and the word of God is the seed. Seeing that photo was like watering my internal garden. With the vastness of the sea behind us, I was reminded that our internal tree is meant to be nourished by the greatest source of all: Divine Love.

This is Love

Healing requires us to weave together all our threads—the joyful memories of the beach, the painful history of our city, and the biological reality of our bodies.
By acknowledging the”roots” of our past and the Vagus Nerve of our present, we can better understand the Tree of Life we are trying to cultivate. We are called to keep pounding, to keep loving, and to remember that we are Loved Just As I Am.

When we tend to the garden within, we find the strength to stand tall, no matter what has happened in the soil beneath us.

Loved Just As I Am by Melissa McDaniel, M.Ed., LCMHC, NCC, shares a thirty-year journey of learning and healing from pain and shame, letting go of judgment and control, and never losing sight of the knowledge God loves unconditionally.