A family tree worth climbing

"I was born into the most remarkable and eccentric family I could possibly have hoped for. 

Maureen O'Hara

I spent most of this past week with my family back in Northern Ireland and came away with a heightened sense of just how much I actually like my siblings and their families. 

We Islanders from the most emerald of isles tend to produce boisterous, bountiful broods that can shake the forest of humanity around their family tree just by being authentic and engaged with life. 

One of the things I like about my family is how completely different we all are. Our temperaments, talents and triggers have created impulses that have sent each of us in very different directions. The outcome after almost 4 decades of growing in this eclectic way is a family tree that is aesthetically balanced and remarkably robust. We tend to resemble an old oak tree like the one captured in the image above. Something that is truly worth climbing and exploring.

"Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it's a stupid way to live." - Proverbs 11:29

I'm a student of history and a collector of the ancients' sayings. That makes the Book of Wisdom in my World-View's sacred texts the obvious choice when I'm looking for inspiration or instruction. There is an earthy reality to the old ways of understanding the world around us. While it lacks the relativistic nuances of modern methods of exploring truth and often offers only one narrow detailed perspective to the whole of an issue, the perspective offered tends to have High Definition quality. "A fistful of air" is indeed a simple and clear perspective of the idiocy of misusing your family. 

I'm painfully aware that there have been times I've walked past my family tree and felt it was an obstacle in my path. At other times I've worked to uproot myself from my origins and replant myself as a separate sapling in a far away place. Neither approach was truly successful as my path and my root system would eventually find it's way back to the original tree that I sprouted from. But as time passes I've become more enamored with my heritage, and more at peace with my place in a tree that is neither linear nor lithe. 

The Emerald Isle's trees tend to be squat, strong and almost impervious to wind or wave. We have a remarkable capacity to endure the weather that pours off the tempestuous seas that surround our small Isle and batter it remorsefully throughout the year. It produces a tendency to dig deep and not be transplanted easily. Storms will inevitably come and go, with some being strong enough to cause even an old oak like ours some consternation. This past week has seen my family tree enduring one of those great storms. It has shaken us, disrupted life and growth, but I believe we're deeply rooted and strong enough that even one of the great "once in a generation" storms is unlikely to truly uproot us. 

That storm was the reason for going back. And while it has dominated much of my time, there was sufficient time remaining for me to spend a few hours each day climbing around in my family tree and discovering anew just how delighted I am in rediscovering old and cherished parts of the family, as well as by the new growth that has created height and depth all of which happened in my family tree in the two years of my being elsewhere. 

When was the last time you climbed your family tree?