Today is the anniversary of my father’s birthday.
He left this planet many, many years ago.
I spent time reflecting on our relationship, and some thoughts came up that I like to share. I am a very private person, because of my own unusual life’s story, so this is quite an exception:
while spending some time reminiscing what my family and ancestors were engaged with, interested in, and quite passionate about, the overlapping interests seemed to be today’s topic. I knew of them, but did not give much attention earlier in my life on what I may have in common with them.
My father and my mother, by their chosen professions, made it their life’s purpose to make the sick well, to help the poor and disabled, to being good people and being disciplined with high ethics, yet not quite embracing the healing power potential of joyfulness, as I remember it.
My mother and both my grandmothers were connected to nature as avid gardeners and flower lovers, to whatever limited extent it was possible in their environments. One of my great-grandmothers collected (wooden) cigar cases to fill with earth and start vegetable seeds.
The love for plants, flowers, and herbs weaves through their lives, of my uncles and aunts too, at least one of them was particularly interested in culinary and medicinal herbs.
Just a few days ago I recreated her delicious cough syrup recipe, a herbal concoction that is currently developing in a cabinet. She also had a potent version of what is known as fire cider, she was making this already in the late 1940s, in Germany.
In my ancestral line were gardeners, potato farmers, plum orchard keepers, rose garden lovers, plant cultivators, and many teachers, they were people who loved to read and expand their horizons since they were not able to travel much due to circumstances over 100 plus years ago and lack of finances, of course.
My dad also was in part self-taught and well-read, he had experienced malnourishment as a child due to to no access to and lack of adequate nutrition, which caused him severe setbacks growing up. That may be one of the reasons why he felt such compassion for people with ailments they have to live with all their lives, without having caused them.
My mother was very similar in her compassion for the sick, the underdog, for the lost, abandoned, misunderstood, especially mentally challenged and lonely humans, it was a very important part of her life.
Today I felt the enjoyment of connecting to my ancestors…..sometimes the time is just right to make a connection effortlessly. It feels like I have been gifted that today.
