Getting Right with the Ancestors

An important part of doing the work to “Know Thyself” in pursuit of wisdom and lessening the cycles of suffering in ones life is getting right with the ancestors. One thing that all humans have in common is that they came from someone. Whether they were loving and nurturing caretakers that carried us into adulthood, woefully inadequate, generally ok enough, absent altogether or anywhere along that color wheel, they all did one thing - and that is pass along the gift of life. I can feel the way some folks will crinkle their nose at the very idea of this life being a gift but I ask you, hang in there for this.

There is no unwinding your DNA, it will carry you to ash or strange preservative or organic matter. For those of you who feel a great fullness in your heart and a deep sense of gratitude for the place you are and places you have been, I love that for you and I see you. May that nurture you for the rest of your days. For the rest of us, life doesn’t always feel like a gift. There are nearly immeasurable ways in which our formative years have a deep and lasting impact on the quality of our lives not just in the moment but in the way we learn in trust, interact, and believe in the world around us. Many of those meaning making faculties didn’t start with you, but are a part of a greater intergenerational nexus of ancestral habits and hardships that were unconsciously passed onto the children therein. Those patterns go on in and through us to impact the social networks we are a part of, proliferating until we make them conscious and decide to want, do and act in healthier ways. Sometimes we need a helping hand to do so, because,

Knowing is not enough.

Continuing reading on Substack…