Honoring the ancestors
We are here only because enough of our ancestors thought of us. Our descendants will thrive only if enough of us think of them.
Dear friends:
In many cultural contexts, this moment in autumn is marked with a pause to recognize and honor those who have died. Halloween can be a playful time, challenging our fears of death and ghosts by making ourselves up in costumes, sharing (and eating) lots of sweets. All Saints and All Souls days invite reflection on the family members and loved ones who are in our lineage, genetic and spiritual, marking our memories of them.
This is also the time in the seasonal calendar when we take steps to ensure a healthy harvest next year by tending soil, saving seeds, protecting the habitats formed by dying leaves, piles of stone and wood.
I find it interesting that this is also the time, in the United States, we choose for our annual ritual of democracy: elections. Is there a conscious or unconscious echo of the awareness that we are part of a long line of humans, that our roots go back generations, that we are here for an instant, making the world our descendants will inherit?
And if so, what does this election season tell us about ourselves? We are seeing a rise in political violence and hate speech. Those who seek to lead us fill the airwaves with lies. Dark money floods the campaigns, making candidates who manage to win farr too beholden to a few superwealthy entities.
We have lost our sense of connection, perhaps. Even more, we have lost our sense of obligation. We think only of what is best for “us,” right now. We forget that we are part of an extensive human family that can only thrive with care. We forget that we are part of a web of life that we must tend.
We are here only because enough of our ancestors thought of us. Our descendants will thrive only if enough of us think of them.
Each choice we make at this important time of year can honor those who came before by elevating life, inclusion, love, peace, nurturing, nourishing, growing, caring. Or, our choices can fail those who will come after by elevating fear, hate, competition, exploitation, and taking.
It is, as always, up to us.
May this time bring you peace and contentment.