Seven Generations Forward

Hope for the Future

Photo by Heather Swain on Unsplash

Tick tock goes the clock. How do I spend the time I have left?

I feel a compelling sense of responsibility, for the sake of my grandchildren and yours, to live in a way that contributes rather than takes from the world. 

Old systems are crumbling, expired and not reflective of our collective soul-calling to not just survive, but thrive. It’s our hope and privilege to begin to create a new paradigm that meets the needs of today and for generations to come.

Imagine the sort of world we could create if we looked at what will be needed seven generations from now. Out of such questions, meandering into possibility, this love letter emerged. I hope it gives you inspiration and hope for the future.

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Seven generations forward from current time, Amelia, descendent of my bloodline, writes this love letter to me, while sitting under a two-hundred year-old oak tree. There are six great generations between us.

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Dear Grandmother Reese,

Thank you for giving birth to your son, seven generations ago, and for helping to nurture him to be a loving man who grew his own family. You started it all.

Your willingness to be forgiving towards others in your lifetime, both those that came before you and those that came after was a blessing to all. Your love and care helped scars become softer, and ultimately helped my mother, generations later, to become a champion for me.

My mother is an artist, coming from generations of people who valued making things. You would be proud of the artistic legacy you claimed from your ancestors, and carried in your own artist heart, dancing on down the line.

I, Amelia, am fierce, taking on the energy of healthy ancestors like you who did the work, uncovering and reversing unhealthy patterns originating from trauma. I come from the loving circle of grandmothers descending from you who have created a sense of community that you could only have dreamed about. 

The earth has suffered during many eons of confused humans, and I know there were many such humans surrounding you during your lifetime and the six generations between us. I’m grateful you were such a light in that storm, and that you persevered by doing what was right for the earth.

The air I breathe is now clean. The waters are swirling with life, and we have finally created a balance in which all sentient beings can thrive. 

We solve problems in love-circles, and when someone acts outside of community values, we look at what went wrong, what caused the poor decision, and then love them back into the circle. The old ways, passed along through story-telling, writing and song, were remembered just in time.

This was your dream. I know because I’ve read your poems and stories. They sit next to me now, under this tree that miraculously survived the forgetting, the greed, the disconnection of your generation and the ones before yours.

I am the daughter of another of your descendents who is a leader in the healing world. Your DNA flows through her, and me, and my future family will also embody the most important legacy that you gave to us.

We honor one another, love one another, and co-create communities – working together for the greater good. We understand that it takes all of our unique gifts to make the life we came here to create.

You healed generations of trauma through your life’s work. You loved deeply and easily and often. You made small, imperceptible choices that added up to a life where I can live freely and with purpose. Thank you for this.

I honor your legacy.

Yours,

Amelia