Dear Reader,
I am late in posting tonight because I have been sifting through the 1940 U.S. Census, which was just released online a few days ago. I am fascinated by ancestry, and by the stories that unwind over centuries to arrive at – us. What do we inherit from our ancestors? What wisdom and what shadows are wrapped in our DNA?
I have written in previous posts about some of my ancestors – Doc Mabry, small town doctor and diagnostician, from whom I take my middle name; also my grandmother on my father’s side, who called to say hello years after her death.
Today I found them each listed in the 1940 Census.
It was a thrill to see their names, as well as the names of the townspeople who shared their little slice of Maine at that time. As I scrolled through the pages, I wondered what their lives were like back then, what they talked about, what scared them – and what their dreams were. Their professions were listed, their incomes, and even the number of hours they worked during the week of March 24 – 31, 1940!
The details fed my imagination, and I envisioned them going to work, buying groceries, coming home… mostly everyday activities. But I also envisioned them dreaming, wondering, hoping…
What I really wanted to know was – how much like them am I?
We know from the latest discoveries of neuroscience that our environment, and how we interact with it, plays a much greater role than we first thought in changing our thoughts and our chemistry, even to the point of determining which of our genes turn on and off. As Bruce Lipton points out in The Biology of Belief, our DNA doesn’t control us, we control our DNA.
We are at a point in our evolution where human beings have more conscious choice than ever who we become. Self-awareness is a powerful tool we are just now developing on a larger scale than ever before.
When I imagine the stories of my ancestors, I become more conscious of who I am – and who I can be.
So for my Stateside readers, go check out the 1940 U.S. Census and see who you can find, then let your mind wander and see what stories come to you. For my readers in other countries, if you have a similar set of records to search, you can do the same.
Who knows what your ancestors might tell you?
I honor your loving heart,
John
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