8/14/10 Ancestors:
I just read a piece today (a quote from the African shaman and teacher Malidoma Some’) that suggested that failing to honor one’s ancestors can be a cause of mental illness. If that’s so, then many aspects of our society are off their tree. (family tree, that is). The good news is, if you have children, or even nieces and nephews, or if you feel parental or aunt-ish toward another human being, you are already an ancestor. Most of us qualify, and don’t we all want to be honored and respected by those who come after us?
The great news is, that about a bazillion people have striven, sweated, worked, played, gardened, danced, avoided danger, loved, made connections, had parties with their neighbors, helped their villages, communicated effectively, and made love so that you could be here today. My mom, who is a brainiac, in a good way, sometimes points out the arithmetic progression of numbers of people are involved in bringing us here. Go back three generations, and it’s already 8 people, and that’s only if there have been no deaths, divorces or remarriages. Then 16, 32, 64, the whole power of two thing. If you go back 10 generations, (about 200 years) that’s over 1,000 people. 20 generations (about 400 years) is over a million. And that doesn’t even include aunts, uncles and cousins. Go back enough generations, and every person on earth is your ancestor. Yeah, we are all related.
You are the result of thousands of years of a certain kind of success—survival! Give your ancestors credit, cut them a break. They (and you) brought you to this moment . Sit quietly for a moment, and listen to the exultant buzz of your gene pool. The whole lot of them, the good, the bad, the despotic, the angelic, the plain, the gorgeous, the genius, the not-so-smart, the important, the insignificant…They are humming, murmuring in your bloodstream. They are sitting in the sun, swimming in the sea, washing their clothes and bedding one another, to produce you! And this world we have now. We have made it this far, humans.
Thank the ancestors. Acknowledge their efforts. Most of them had it a lot harder than we have. They had to work harder physically, and they had difficult mental and spiritual tasks as well. Thank them, and figure out a way to honor them. Pour a little of your tea on the ground before you drink, as some do in Africa and Ireland. Put out rice or sweets on their shrine (or flowers on the grave) as they do in Japan and around the world. Thank them at the very least for surviving, for giving you life. And vow not to waste this chance, this life and heritage that they’ve given you. We are each and all the culmination of a lineage. It is a joy and an honor to be the result of that much effort. It is an ecstasy.