Hi Friend,

You might know this Maya Angelou quote about our ancestors:

"We are braver and wiser because they existed, those strong women and strong men... We are who we are because they were who they were. It's wise to know where you come from, who called your name."

So true.

This weekend is Samhain/All Hallows Eve/All Saints Day/Dia de los Muertos.

As the leaves fall from the trees (at least here in the northeast of the U.S.) and the weather grows significantly colder - here in the Hudson Valley we had our first frost a few days ago - many peoples look towards those who came before us: our ancestors.

I've put together a collection of resources at the bottom of this email about All Saints Day and Dia de los Muertos that I've found interesting. Maybe you will, too.

I admit I didn't use to think much about ancestors.

My grandmother often told me family stories: I found such stories to be rather boring.

On the wall of my family home were pictures of those who had come before us; I barely paid attention to my mother's narrations of who they were (some guy who fought in the Civil War and looked rather stern; another image of a woman who was related to him, but, in what way exactly???) Looking at myself in the mirror, I didn't see much resemblance between my features and the images on the wall. Although I can see that I have my grandmother's chin. And my grandfather's high brow.

Growing up, I didn't have a whole lot of interest in history, either. I was interested in the present moment and in shaping the future. And in myth.

Slowly I came to see how much my understanding of time itself was myopic.

The present - and sometimes even how we think about the future - is so deeply shaped by what has come before.

Working with the interconnected web of reality - an ability that some people sometimes refer to as 'magic', but it has many, many names - is, for many of us, much easier if our understanding of history, including but not limited to ancestors, is present.

Working with the past is part of the spiritual work of engaging with the present. As is working with the future (ahem: maybe its all about the present!)

It's true for social histories and ecological histories and family histories. So many stories.

Maybe, with the holidays around the corner and, with them, times for sharing stories, especially family stories - you might be thinking some about what stories we share. Both in our families and our institutions. At church and in the woods. With the lands you walk along and with your bank account.

You might be interested in this illustrated article written by my friend and a ReMembering Course past participant, Anna Mudd: Rising Waters, Apocalypses, and Childrens Stories which we published in the winter of 2020.

Part of what we do in our Origin Stories Course is practice the art of telling different origin stories. Because they really, really matter.

Our next Origin Story Course starts in February. Our next informational webinar about this course is going to be in about two weeks: on November 20.

Because this is happening the week before Thanksgiving, I'm going to lightly structure this webinar around Thanksgiving as an example of an origin story that has been (and continues to be) actively re-told, contested, and re-Membered in different ways in different communities. I don't usually do this for my course webinars, but I think it is going to be really interesting. So if this interests you (even if the Course itself does not) please do join us.

Regardless....

They say the veil is right now. I hope you can see clearly… and stay grounded.

Whatever ancestors you might be tending, whatever memories of times past, as well as times future, I hope the present meets you with some grace.

Walk alongside beauty - death and sickness and new life alike, dear ones.

-Sara Jolena