Wisdom #73 – Honor Your Ancestors

11/02/2016

Remember you are an expression of your mothers love.

I helped my friend write a condolence note this week. We finished the message with the quote above. I felt those words in my heart as I spoke them and I feel them now as I rewrite them.

Did you feel that in your heart too?

Today is the last day of Allhallowtide, which is a three day celebration that remembers those who have passed. The celebration begins on October 31st with Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos, November 1st is All Saints Day and November 2nd is All Souls Day.

Regardless if you celebrate any of these cultural / religious holidays / traditions, it is important to both remember and honor those who have come before you.

As years pass, we may forget the way we were loved or shaped by those who are no longer with us.

Just the other day, I recalled a folk tale my nana told me as a young girl. I have not heard the folk tale nor have I thought about it since I was 7 years old. I recently used the tale to help a friend work through a gray area in his life. As I retold the story to him, I was surprised that I had not thought about it, but at the same time I was able to recall the tale like it was just yesterday.

Yesterday, I came across todays wisdom. It’s a beautiful piece of writing that really got me to think deeper about my ancestors.

As I’ve gotten older, I find myself going back to my roots, beyond the roots of my childhood, but the roots of my ancestors. I am honoring the wisdom of my culture, the strength of those who have come before and the interconnection I have with both my ancestors and my culture, (which has often been denied to me from others.)

Today’s wisdom comes from a monthly newsletter from the House of Intuition, a spiritual store in Los Angeles.

Look in the mirror. What do you see? Maybe you have your mother’s smile. Above that are your father’s eyes and the way they crinkle with both delight or anger. Your fingers may be long or short like your grandmother. And your demeanor may be stoic or sensitive like your grandfather.

But look again.

There is something intangible there. It is something all its own; it belongs to you but is not of you. It could be physical or emotional. It is the core of who you are. It runs through your veins. It comes out to play on days like today.

It is the ache, the call, the message and the mystery of your Ancestors.

Halloween marked the beginning of Allhallowtide–a period of three days where we honor our ancestors.

We remember and pray for the dead.

By recognizing those that came before us, we become grateful for those we have with us today. We see the our spiritual connection to the world. We see our lineage drawn out like a golden thread of life. That smile? It brightened the lives of many for hundreds of years. Your grandmother’s fingers? They cooked, cleaned, created and healed from generation to generation.

That mystery in your face.

That is you. That is them. That is everyone.

We come from the same Source.

Look around you.

Everyone is related to you. If you go back far enough, we all have the same ancestors.

Honor that we are all one.

Or just start by honoring yourself. Break the patterns of old and create healthy new ones.

You (and your ancestors) are worth it.

Love, Stephanie – XO