We may think we come into this world alone, but that’s not quite the truth. We come with the stories of our ancestors, planted like a seed within us. All of their triumphs and failings are in us somewhere locked up for safekeeping. Then when we are old enough or strong enough we become the key to unlock the treasure of our shared past.

Some of this treasure will be painful to acquire. We watch our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and see where they’ve struggled or lost their way. We hear the sad, joyful, or silly stories of our ancestors passed down as warnings or offerings or advice. This is where we pick up the thread of the story that’s been woven through time that now flows through our hands. And this is where we have the choice as to how we proceed. How do we unfurl our own story in the shadow or sunlight of all the stories that have come before?

Here’s our choices. We can pick up the thread and begin weaving our own beautiful tale with joyous peaks and tragic lows or we can ignore it altogether. Ignoring the storyline that belongs to us will never erase the story we need to finish. Those themes will keep popping up in the most unusual and unexpected of places. At times they may take us down to a depth we thought we might never survive. But these are our stories and we need to honor what they teach and write the future our soulful desires envision.

On the other side of the story is the life that’s been waiting for us to catch up or catch on, the life that has been calling to us from the shadows. Answering is never easy, that’s why it’s good to adopt practice, patience, and good will. We pick up the story and add our piece to the family journey. This story is as ancient as the earth. It’s gone on since the beginning, finding its way into endless hearts and minds until it comes knocking at our door.

When we pick up the story and begin weaving we heal old wounds. We also give thanks to those who’ve carried the story safely inside. The story is ours now and what we choose to do with it is ours as well. We give the story the wings of our imagination and the tears of our hard work. The story comes together and falls apart. It is the sacred work of healing ancestral unfinished business that catapults us into magic and meaning.

So here we are in the present moment, the custodians and keepers of the wounds and celebrations that come to us from the past. By adding our voice we set sail into the uncharted territory of what is yet to come. Then it’s ours to hand down. Honor the story that has come to you through the generations, open to its lessons, let it soothe your soul and help you find your center. Then begin the creating what is uniquely yours.

Surrender and create. No two more powerful words exist in all of language.

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