If you noticed, I didn’t put a question mark and that’s because I am not asking a question only but also yelling.
Life is a journey and until we all get to the end, we keep going whether frailty sets in or not. It is expedient that we remind ourselves that our lives do not just consist of ourselves but of others who will come out of loins or mentored by us. Some people don’t want to have biological offsprings but would rather have adopted children while some just want to have as many as they can around them. Either way, those who come under your wings learn your ways, disposition as such you must master what you do, say or exude.
Let me share with you something I read recently:
In 1874 a member of the New York State Prison Board noticed that six members of the same family were incarcerated at the same time. The board did some research, looking back a few generations to try to find the original couple who initiated this tragic family legacy.
They traced the family line back to an ancestor born in 1720, a man considered lazy and godless with a reputation as the town troublemaker. He was also an alcoholic and viewed as having low moral character. To make matters worse, he married a woman who was much like himself, and together they had six daughters and two sons.
Here is what the report revealed:
the approximately 1,200 descendants of this couple who were alive by 1874:
• 310 were homeless.
• 160 were prostitutes.
• 180 suffered from drug or alcohol abuse.
• 150 were criminals who spent time in prison, including seven for murder.
The report also found that the State of New York had spent $1.5 million a shockingly high number at the time to care for this line of descendants, and not one had made a significant contribution to society.
Jonathan Edwards
A refreshing contrast
This second family study began with the famous preacher Jonathan Edwards, who was born in 1703. A deeply religious man, he lived a life of strong moral values and became a minister and a dedicated family man.
He married a deeply religious woman named Sarah who shared his values, and together they had 11 children. Eventually, Jonathan Edwards became the president of Princeton University. Here is what researchers discovered about the approximately 1,400 descendants of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards by 1874:
• 13 were college presidents.
• 65 were college professors.
• 100 were attorneys.
• 32 were state judges.
• 85 were authors of classic books.
• 66 were physicians.
• 80 held political offices, including three state governors.
• 3 were state senators.
• 1 became vice president of the United States.
What a difference it makes in the kind of example and values that are passed down to the next generation! Strong moral values can indeed bring blessings and opportunities for generations yet to be born''
You can’t afford to live your life just as you want it because while you’re gone, your seeds planted in the lives of others will germinate and the fruits will be evident. I am tempted to think that Jonathan Edwards's life was different because he decided to make a turn. He chose to live differently perhaps because he read/heard the history of his family.
My question to you is: what do you know about your lineage? Take out time to check what has been the trend in the family. Perhaps, you need to break it by making a U-turn because as long as you’re okay with the status quo, nothing changes. One of the things I do when people come in for a consultation is to check their history and take them throughout memory lane with the aim of finding patterns that need to be addressed. The mental trauma some of us go through can be addressed if we check our family history and seek help (not out of fear) to avoid repeating patterns. No wonder, people end up becoming what they are fighting sometimes because you are fighting it the wrong way due to lack of knowledge.
What step(s) will you take today?
Feel free to send me a mail if you want to talk more about this.
Go break a leg!!