Indebtedness to Inheritance - Part II

By Shade McCurdy

Take a moment to look at all the technology and infrastructure around you, and think of how many people worked to create it all. If every worldly improvement that a man made in his life disappeared upon his death, and each new generation started from scratch, our people would have never surpassed the Stone Age. Our civilization is only possible because each generation builds upon the previous one.

Imagine your most precious material possession.
Something you worked hard for.
Something valuable.
Something meaningful.
Something worthy of being an heirloom.

What if you never explained its importance to anyone else, and when you died, it was simply thrown away without a second thought?

Now imagine that rather than a material possession, it’s your entire bloodline’s legacy: all the experiences you had, all the lessons you learned, all the wisdom you received from your own parents and grandparents, and all the aspirations you imagined for your children and grandchildren. How would starting from scratch affect your descendants?

Countless struggles have been endured for each of us to exist in the present moment. The further we look back, the further we may see ahead.

It is ignorance that allows people to take things for granted. But those of us who embrace our identity—our ancestral culture, customs, and wisdom—understand the wealth of this inheritance, and our indebtedness to preserve it for future generations.

Ultimately, your greatest personal distinctions will be what you make of the gifts given to you by your ancestors and the gods.

Hail the Gods!
Hail the Folk!