Eye on the Future
My father died almost 6 years ago. It’s hard to remember this. His presence is still very strong. Every day I see remnants of his being growing in new ways through the legacy of family he left behind him. His son becomes more like him every day, his 5 grandsons, each in their own way, exhibit some random piece of him without any awareness of it having been present 2 generations previous to them. His 7 grand-daughters will spontaneously recall an experience with him, a story, a joke or a lesson that they share whenever possible. Every time you meet a member of our family you meet my Dad. His influence was strong in life and still flavors each of our lives. And so life continues. Aboriginal tribes know this. We are influenced by 7 generations behind us and continue to influence 7 generations before us.
With this awareness we feel a special onus to behave responsibly because we know that everything we think and do affects the future. It’s important that we recall the roots from whence we sprang. History must not be repeated. We must learn to consciously cultivate, nurture and grow the best of who we are and compost the rest, mulching it back into the soil of our consciousness to allow better future growth. Come to understand the person you are today, bearing in mind what you have learned from your forefathers. You are not a lone isolated being. You come through a family tree, your roots run deep. There are inherent traits, strengths and weaknesses with which you have to work. Come to know what they are that you may utilize them to their maximum potential. Evolving consciousness depends on what we each bring forward from our own family roots. We can blindly repeat, and make the same mistakes, or we can learn, make new better choices, fostering the best.
In the art of Bonsai, the external nature of the tree is altered to conform to extreme conditions and inherent species strengths and potential. Roots are ruthlessly clipped back, keeping only what is important and necessary for continued growth, branches are manipulated into unnatural positions of maximum flexibility, and foliage is pruned and forced to a new diminutive expression of perfection. No human being can be made to conform to these extremes, for generations though, our governments and militia have tried. There is a certain strength that comes with surviving conformity, rules and extreme conditions but in the end we strive to be ourselves. In the end, what we believe in the most of ourselves will dictate our futures.
When the Bonsai is left once again to its own nature, even after decades of shaping and molding, it will attempt to revert back to its own genetic DNA patterning. As the internal natural wisdom tries to reveal itself once again it risks it’s life. Some make it, some don’t. As we struggle to free our selves from outside dogmas and rules and conventional structures of recognized power – some of us will make it and some of us won’t. It is imperative that you come to understand and love the truest nature of yourself as we move into the ending years of this cycle we are in before we head into the new cycle.
My Dad mastered the Art of Bonsai, leaving approximately 40 of them for the rest of us to try to keep nurturing along. Some have made it, most haven’t. When I look upon his creations I remember him; his spirit, his vision, and how his heart would not conform. He lived his whole 69 years trying to live free, thinking for himself and questing into every possibility of himself.
Not many (if any) of his little trees will survive the next 7 generations – but my Dad will!
Andrea Thiel Connell 