“To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it more fit for its prime function of looking forward.”–Margaret Fairless Barber
My family and I just returned home from a vacation to Ireland and Scotland. My wife got to meet distant relations in Galway who she had never met and see the statue of Pádraic Ó Conaire (another relative) and the church her grandmother attended. I got to visit Gilnockie Tower of the Armstrong Clan. There were cemeteries, churches, schools, palaces, etc. that pointed our children to the past that has shaped us. (My son wished that we could have seen more of the history that speaks to the Viking roots that run in this family tree—the Armstrong clan, as well as the Irish heritage have Nordic beginnings.) Though not a Scottish or Irish quote, I am reminded of the following:
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is important to consider how the past has shaped us—to look from where we came. It is important to know our history (the good and the bad), to honor it, and to have grattitude regarding it.
The motto of Clan Armstrong is invictus maneo (I remain unvanquished). It is a part of me. It is a part of my children and will be a part of their children. It became a part of my wife when we married (we included a ceremonial passing of the tartan that formally recognized this in our wedding). Likewise, I am forever joined to the Wrights and Nobles and rest of my wife’s family and my lineage in Ireland/Scotland and beyond.
I have often referred to the quote by Per Olaf Åstrand: “If you want to be an elite athlete, choose your parents wisely.” While, perhaps, we don’t actually “choose” our parents, we are a product of every generation that came before. This includes the experiences, as well as the genes. (I am increasingly fascinated by the growing field of epigenetics.) It is a blessing to know our past—to know how it has shaped our present and will continue to impact our future.
There was a sense of “home” in our ancestral lands, but, moreover, there was a grattitude for the home to which returned. Our children got a glimpse of who they are and a greater appreciation for who they are becoming. The roots of family run deep. It is a blessing to be able to know and understand these (knowing that for many the past is not well-known). As Marcus Garvey wrote: “A people without the knowledge of their past, origin, and culture is like a tree with no roots.”
To the extent that we can, we must learn of our past—individually, as well as a collective society. (I also had the opportunity to read The Fourth Turning is Here by Neil Howe during our travels—hence an even greater focus on the generations of past and present.) As I learn from the past, I learn even more to….
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!