This weeks sermon comes from one of our own, River.
https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/community/43198-reallyriver
"If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors."
-- African proverb
This a season when many cultures take time to remember those who have gone before. We all have connections and bonds leading from the very center of our selves, back through our parents and grandparents and far off into prehistory. Every one of those connections has helped shape who we are today, from being bipedal to what color our eyes are to how we deal with sadness or joy. Ancestors aren't only biological; an ancestor is anyone who helped to shape who we are. Somewhere in the mists of time, a torch of hope was lit and has been passed down and tended for untold generations. We are now the caretakers of the hopes and dreams of our ancestors and we will pass them on to future generations, whether biologically or through teaching and inspiration or simply energetically.
I wear rings every day that represent my mothers and my grandmothers. Each time I put the rings on, I send a little "thank you" to the people they represent. My ancestors, whether we are biologically or energetically related, had hurts as well as happiness. All of them - all of their paths - combined to create who I am at my core, and I am grateful. What I choose to do with that core, and how I choose to shape it, is what the next generation will inherit. What kind of ancestor will you be?
"You have been blessed to stand on the shoulders of giants. Make sure that someone stands on yours as well. This is the only way of human progress."
-- Chris Matakas
