Losing the links

As we age into adulthood the realities of life begin to become more clear.

I wonder how many people knew their great grandparents. By knew I mean you actually have memories of them. For my generation I think most of us do not really remember our great grandparents, they likely passed when you were young. If you did know them, what can you remember about them? What things did they pass on to you, to carry on to coming generations? They have become a lost link, a part of the pathway to the past that cannot be recovered. They have taken with them both their memories and their lessons.

Most people my age have also by now lost their grandparents, and possibly their parents. What part of your parents have you become and do you carry on? What part of your grandparents have you been able to carry with you and pass on to the next generation?Every generation is an encyclopedia of knowledge, that if not passed along perishes with the author. For my generation, the passing on of what we have become, has itself become both easier and more difficult at the same time.

Technology has made it much easier to stay in touch, but at the same time brings with it less in person time with people. Some things cannot be passed through a cable wire. During this time of uncertainty, technology surely has helped many people who otherwise would have felt quite alone and Losing their links. Nothing is better than spending time with and sharing your experiences with the people most important to you.

Every time you do something, that you have done in the past with a person who is a link to your past it helps to keep the past alive. Every time you make the sauce that your grandmother taught you to make, and that you will teach your children to make. Every time you go camping with your kids, because that’s what you did as a child. Every time you take your grandkids fishing because that’s what your grandfather did with you. You are keeping the links alive. Call me a sentimentalist, but these are the things that make us who we are, that make us human.

Without a past, there is no future