A Thought

Many people pride themselves on their ancestors who did the good things in history. People even fake their own family trees to prove their worth to others. I think it's also a good idea to remember not just the good ones, but the bad ones too. If we choose to ignore these facts, then do we not risk falling into the same pitfalls that even the bad ones succumbed to? I happen to think so.

I have been spending some time piecing together my family tree on one side of my mother's family. I know much about another family, but far less about the other side (my great grandmother's side). In that line I have discovered many interesting facts, but within those ancestors, some of them had notorious tempers that are legendary to this day. Thankfully there are enough centuries to dilute this predisposition, but I know I have it, to a certain degree. I also know of others' misdeeds, and I am hoping it will make me all the more wiser as I grow older.

There is, of course, a good thing about free will. It says that no one person is destined for any set course in life, and I am quite thankful for that. Because of my mother, I always thought I was screwed, more or less. And then, one winter, I decided to read Steinbeck's East of Eden, which essentially changed how I viewed my life and my family.

The main point in the book is that neither your parents, nor anyone else, truly determine your fate. We always have choices in life. The choices we make are what set the course for our own lives, and no amount of bad parents or ancestors can change that. But knowing what others have done, and putting them in equal weight with the good can, I think, help with the choices to be made.

Timshel. (Don't know what I mean? Read East of Eden, and you will.)