Last year I signed up to ancestry.com.au to start exploring my family history. I went through a big fascination with it but the novelty wore of and for months I've been paying a subscription that I haven't used.
But with a little family gathering/reunion planned for this weekend, my interest has been reignited and I've logged back on.
I'm really enjoying finding out different bits and pieces. It's fascinating to see where I came from. Convicts and farmers mostly - which doesn't surprise me at all. But mostly hard workers. Good honest people. People I'm proud to be a product of, even if they weren't headline grabbing, world changing, history makers.
Then I had this thought.
Don't ever underestimate the impact you have on history.
Your impact on the world might not be dramatic, front-page stuff. But to one person, somewhere, you could change their world. You may be the inspiration for something that someone else might do that will indeed change the world. Or you might just pass on genuine kindness, which will in turn will be passed on to another. If this happened everywhere, imagine the world we might live in...
Chose your words wisely. Speak out of love. Be kind. Show you care. Show people they matter. Write your own history and be the start, or the continuation of a line of incredible world changers :)
Question....
Have you explored your family history? What did you discover? Who were the people that had an impact on your future? Please share! We'd love to hear your stories!
One final thought...
Don't let history go with your family as they leave this earth. People's memories and stories are kept alive through the generations if only we remember to ask the questions now. We lost my Grandma when I was about fifteen years old. Before she died, she wrote down memories of her childhood, which are precious memories to us now that only knew her in her later years. I have beautiful memories of my Grandma but know little about her younger years. Oh how I wish I'd read her stories before she'd left us so that I could ask more about them. There's so many questions now that have gone with a generation. So don't waste time now. Ask people to write down or record their childhood memories. I'm starting with my Nana and Pop and then my parents this weekend ;)
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I have never used ancestry.com.au, but my mother is on it and has found alot of interesting family stories. Its facinating!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so true that history does get lost and forgotten as our loved ones leave this earth.
I love hearing stories from my grandfather about when he was a boy and he is in the process of writing his memoirs. It is something that I will keep and treasure.
I also was fifteen when my grandmother passed away, and I wish I took the time to speak to her about her childhood and her parents.
Enjoy your weekend :-)