Who we are
Do you know of those who walked before you? Did the footsteps of your forebears walk their way into stories told? Were your younger years enriched by the company of your grandparents, possibly great grandparents, who told tales of times long gone.
We are shaped by those who came before us, those who walked the long road through the many generations of time. So often we do not recognise their presence within us, crafting our fabric, forming our ways. To remember them and rekindle this flame of knowing, we open ourselves to a greater understanding of who we are.
We are life within life. As a seed carries within it the source of the tree from which it came, so are we the interweaving of our ancestors and the Spirit of Life itself. We are here because life calls to life. Called into the stream from the unseen, we are moved along by it’s ever-flowing current. From one generation to the next, we come into and move through this world. We make tracks and leave impressions until we part company with this life and return to our origin.
The seed that brings us into existence pulses with the memory of its seedbed. It contains the blueprint of life itself, from the makings of what was before, to the unfolding of what is to come. If we trace our thread back through the many generations of our forebears, we get more than a glimpse of those formative years. Not just the formative years of our own life, but of those that span way back through the echoes of time.
We cannot choose what has been passed on to us but we can choose what we pass on. Each generation has endured some form of upheaval, be it poverty or displacement. Some may have met the generous hand of plenty or the open arms of peace. Great struggle demanded fortitude, as so many of our ancestors had to forge their way with often so very little. We tend to forget the courage, resilience and determination it took to live through such harsh times. When our foremothers and forefathers are remembered and acknowledged with a sense of reverence, respect, love and compassion, we bring them to life within us. We can draw from the well of their experiences and use this knowledge, this wisdom, to navigate our way through the twists and turns of our everyday lives. We have the knowing to solve problems and find solutions, to make way and also make amends, just as they did.
Our ancestors form our backbone. Each generation a vertebrae, supporting and giving hold to the one to come, grounding us in this reality. Our kin of times gone by resides within the earth and in the ethers, in our cells and in our breath. They speak to us when we know how to listen deeply, their whispers become our whispers, their dreams become our dreaming.
We come together from places far and wide
We come together as family clan and tribe
Remembering those who walked before us
in this great circle of life
Be it mother father sister brother
Be it husband be it wife
And those who came before them
our grandparents our ancestry
You forged a way toward us
We are family
Those who walked before
have prepared for us the way
Finding strength in times of challenge
bringing life to each new day
Imparting gifts of wisdom
gathered through their long lived years
Shaping who we are
through their joy their strength their tears
As all things come to pass
each new day brings change
May we reflect on those before us
for with memory they remain
With treasured gifts and wisdom
learnt from these passing years
May we lay a path before us
with all that we hold dear