As we approach Samhain here in the Northern Hemisphere — a time to honour our ancestors and those who have passed in this turn of the Wheel of the Year — I like to give gratitude for what my ancestors have given me: their resilience, their DNA, their gifts, their histories, their talents, their culture, their challenges, their love… and, in some cases, their ancestral wounds for healing.
Being a time of reflection, I also now consider my own legacy. I do not have children but I would like to think that my presence on this earth will leave some sort of footprint… a mark of my being, a trace of my intent, a thought or seed that I have planted somewhere that is being nurtured and carried by another:
Perhaps my commitment to clean air and water will cause at least one person to reduce their carbon footprint…
Perhaps my commitment to acceptance of all will raise the awareness of at least one person, open one heart…
Perhaps my commitment to the education of girls worldwide will mean one more girl can step into her magnificence and follow the path that she wants…
What will survive of each of us?
What will live on?
What imprint will we leave on this planet?
What mark will YOU forge?
I think that these words from poet Philip Larkin are true, that what survives of us is love… love for our fellow humans, love for our planet…
From his poem “An Arundel Tomb”:
“Our almost-instinct almost true:
What will survive of us is love.”
I do hope that my love for Mama Earth, her people, plants and animals that I have so freely shared will be carried forward by others, lighting the way for their path.
Photo credit: Debby Hudson on Unsplash