We of the human race can be as varied as the branches of a tree, yet we all have common roots. There is no better way to see and understand this than when you search out your family history.
As of this day, in this year, in this moment of the past few months - I have been fortunate enough to trace my family history backwards for four generations. All the way to the mid 19th century. This is my third installment on this topic as my information and direct family connections have grown. I have been fortunate enough to speak to 2nd and 3rd cousins as well as 2nd uncles, the son of one of my grandfather's brothers.
The last I wrote on this matter I sent out a prayer for my extended family members to reach back to me. Little did I know that some of them had already been in the process of reaching out and finding me. So we did indeed connect. We connected at the crossroad of either giving up or going forward while we still have Elders left alive who could share information with us to verify our findings. Well, the findings are for real and have been authenticated. Cousins whom I've never met before all talking on the phone for the first time in our lives and sharing stories about common relatives, their names, where they lived and how they lived - and all of our stories are the same!
Stories that were handed down the family chain - from physical descriptions to dramatic incidents that occurred that influenced or changed the way certain things took place within the family. Then came the pictures and live Internet video. So many faces and the family resemblances are all there. Physical traits that got passed down the family line. One aunt of a generation ago resembling an aunt in the very next generation. Skin tone shades and hues, nose and eye features that go span from two of my own kids all the way back to relatives two generations ago. You look at all of the information in front of you and there's just absolutely no denying that we are related.
All of this traced back to a man born in the mid 1800's, as well as his wife. All of us having never spoken before - knew exactly what he and his wife looked liked. We knew his name and her name. We knew how many kids they had. The names of those kids - whom we are the descendants of. We got all of our information from the same sources - our parents. Our conversations only confirmed what was apparent to our eyes.
So my prayers to connect with my extended relatives has been answered.
As mankind proceeds forward into the future, we must all be aware that if it were possible, we would learn that all of us share some common history somewhere along the way. The more time we spend trying to divide and dominate one another, only proves that we cannot escape the fact that we do have connections. Otherwise we would simply ignore each other. There would be no need to respond or attempt to dispose of one another. If we all learned to reach into our souls instead of reaching out for the control of resources - we would be able to find better ways to coexist and improve our existence.
I am rejoicing with my lost relatives now. I hope to attend a family reunion with them. As I live in and enjoy this moment, I am also celebrating the fact that even when evil and hatred attempts to separate us - the reality of our commonality will eventually bring us back together again.
