Our own family is usually the most powerful influence in our early years, and the thoughts and acts of our forebears shaped the world we inherit. Communities evolve as if they've a life of their own and their history is your own.
The twin pursuits of family and local history are happily entwined for anyone still living in the neighbourhood where they grew up. But about twelve years ago I moved to a city I'd never even visited before, and I presumed that I was the first of my family to make it my home; I was amazed to find that my great grandmother had been born and raised here. Suddenly seeing familiar streets through the eyes of a child of Victorian Britain opened my eyes to a haunting sense of continuity that has never really left me.
Fortunately, it's not hard to indulge an interest in our origins, and there are many ways in which we can all trace our roots. Oddly, the richest source of information and insight - our parents and grandparents - can be hardest to draw upon. Many older people would still rather visit the dentist than discuss their childhood. But at least you can start recording your own memories.
The family photo album is an excellent way to start memories flooding back, and it can really bring the past to life. The pictures themselves are treasures that should be copied (with permission) and carefully annotated with full details of people, places and events.
Even with the best will in the world though, memories are often unreliable, so we need to verify anecdote and family legend. And this is where the real detective work begins.
Largely thanks to institutional bureaucracy, most countries are well served with family history resources, and a little effort can uncover a wealth of information. The Internet too has much to offer, but the quality of some websites leaves much to be desired. That said, I have actually discovered online cousins as far away as America, Australia and Canada as well as several in the UK, some of whom I have since met in the flesh, and all of whom share the strange addiction that genealogy can become.
History comes alive in our very blood; an unbroken lineage of innumerable generations exists in every cell of our body, and the record of their lives is also writ large in the environment around us. Their legacy is the backdrop to the stage across which we now stroll and play our parts.
Of course, we too play our part and (as if we didn't have enough to do!) as family historians, it is practically a duty to compile our own autobiographies for the benefit of future generations. Written for others to read, this is a secular document that should not be confused with the personal journal kept when we consult the Early Heaven Oracle.
Our ancestry reaches so far back through time that we have cousins fossilised in limestone and oil. Many of the molecules in our bodies were created in ancient super novae: as a carbon-based life-form, we are equally related to the diamonds in expensive jewellery and the graphite in the cheapest pencils.
Strengthening our network of inter-personal relationships helps us in many ways; at very least it combats the vicious spiral of urban isolation and, by deepening our understanding of our position in the world, it also provides a firm base upon which to build future happiness. After all, if you don't know where you're coming from, it's doubly hard to tell where you're going; but the main thing to remember is - none of us travel alone.
© Ken Taylor 2002 - 2006