Sunday, April 6, 2014

Calling On the Ancestors


Calling On the Ancestors

Last week I was at a coneference with a group of insurance and financial advisors. The folks from AXA have been around for a very long time. They are already great at what they do but they had come together to become even better.

At that conference, I witnessed something I had never seen done by a corporation.

As everyone stood and music played quietly in the background, the names of each and every one of their co-workers (both past and present,) who had died the previous year leading up to the conference were reverently read out loud.

AXA is a very large company, so there were many, many names. No one moved or spoke.

With the calling of each name, I felt a stirring of emotions, energy and love.

My sister/editor/amazing jewelry designer, Janet Hill Talbert says, “When a person dies, a library closes.” It is our responsibility to keep that library open. (Click here to see Janet's designs.)

As I spoke that morning, I invoked the names and memories of some of my ancestors. I spoke of my mother and of Terry Evenson, the man who helped put me through college and became like a father to me. I spoke of my sister Myrna and my great-grandfather John Henry Freeman, the abolitionist.

I thought of my daughter Mariah and my nephew Christopher and when I did I could see a host of others.

When we call on and remember those who have passed on from this life, we are stirring the memories and lessons we need for our journey on this side.

Being a part of this very spiritual practice in a group of corporate folks enabled me to know that even when we can’t see it, an awakening is already happening.

Call on your loved ones. Share their life and stories with others. When you do, you will come to see and know that dead don’t mean done.

Be you, be well, be connected.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

No comments:

Post a Comment