Our Ancestry + Our Home

REFLECTION

OUR ANCESTORS + OUR HOME

There is a quiet pull within each of us, a longing for belonging and place. It is the call of ancestry, the whisper of those that came before us, with the reminder that ‘Home’ is not only the place we reside, but also where we come from.
 
Our ancestry is a living thread woven into who we are today.  The resilience of our grandparents, the traditions of our cultures, the journeys that are the stories of our lineage are held within us.  We carry our ancestry in our language, habits, the way we see the world and what we find comforting within the spaces we live.
 
Bringing our ancestry into our physical home doesn’t mean creating a memorial to our past, but choosing elements that stimulate familial, cultural, or celebratory moments.   The integration of elements like an open kitchen like your childhood home, a style of tile from a cultural origin used in the entryway, or the integration of family heirlooms that harken to our lineage.  When we intentionally place these elements, we create a deeper sense of place, of time, of history, of home.
 
As one creates their own home, it is helpful to reflect on moments of the past, places one has traveled, and special rituals that are meaningful.  Ask questions about what specifically you remember. Can you identify what feeling or sensation it provoked? Maybe time in the kitchen felt like belonging because the family cooked together, or the outdoor patio was where summer Sunday dinners happened, and it felt like connection, or lace window treatments remind you of your grandmother's house, where you felt special.
 
In embracing our ancestry, we do more than look back - we find our way forward, guided by the truth that our home is, and has always been, within us.