Let’s Honor the Ancestors

“Many cultures believe that on a certain day – Halloween, the Irish Samhain Eve, Mexico’s ‘Dia de los Muertos’ – the veil between this world and the next is especially thin.” ~ Michael Dirda

I’ll be honest, I’ve never particularly liked Halloween. As a kid I wasn’t into creepy stories. I don’t like to be frightened. And as I got older it seemed to me that Halloween, at least in the United States, was one of those “commercial” holidays where the candy and costume industries cash in on what was at one time a serious celebration and honoring of our ancestors. It’s sad that our connection to those who have gone before us and the lessons they have passed down is now swept aside for profit.

Just recently, I’ve been thinking a great deal about my ancestors. I believe, and I think there is even scientific proof for this, that we inherit things from our progenitors through our DNA and thought patterns. Our lives and those of those who came before us are irrevocably interwoven. What we inherit is not just things about our health, but qualities like, courage, tenacity, work ethic, or fear, suspicion, and lack of self-worth. 

If we want to get rid of the negative qualities and attitudes passed down to us, it takes a lot of work. Learning the stories about our ancestors can help. I’m enthralled by television shows like Finding Your Roots, with Louis Gates Jr. and Who Do You Think You Are?, produced by Lisa Kudrow. I feel the emotions of the guests when they find out about the lives of their fore-fathers and mothers. They are always so deeply affected. They often say, “Well, now I see where I got that from.” Watching those shows makes me want to find out all I can about who I am, by finding out about the people I came from.

The main theme of my life has been about personal and spiritual growth. I’ve never wanted my life to remain static. And I believe that if I grow and change, I help humanity to grow and change as well. It’s only recently that I’ve felt strong enough to examine the darker sides of my personality and try to do some healing work there. 

So, this Halloween, I have a little bit different perspective about the significance of this time of year and our celebration of witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and the like. Those characters are representations of our darker sides and perhaps the healing we need to be doing so we can accept ourselves and become more joyful.

On another note, I’ve begun to do little videos on Instagram and Facebook. They are an extension of this blog and my podcasts. To me stories are powerful tools for teaching and community building. They can help us heal and walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. The videos are just little bits of things I’ve learned from the stories I’m consuming. My handle at Instagram is “sagemidgorden”, if you’re interested in following me there. You can find my writer’s page on Facebook at Lucinda Sage Midgorden (without the hyphen). And I hope you will check out my podcast Story-Power. Episode #8 “Storytelling Magic” aired on October 28. I’ve had wide ranging conversations discussing things as diverse as Shakespeare, myths, the MCU and classic literature and movies. Episode #9 “Podcasts, Movies and More” airs November 11. You can listen to them here on my website where the show notes are, or at Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps.

As you may have noticed, I’ve added a donation section to my pages. You can donate any amount you like even though I’ve made suggestions. If you like what you read or hear and donate, I will send you a personal thank you. I’m committed to helping my fellow artists by supporting their work financially. I hope you will do the same thing for the artists you like.

The holiday season is upon us. It feels like it is time to rest, reflect, and wrap up the lessons of this year so we can be ready for what is to come in the new year.

Take care of yourselves. Welcome to my new followers. Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. 

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2020

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.