Philosphy

I want to take a moment or two and welcome both old and new friends to this site. It goes without saying my dream is together we will build a community rich in a fabric of the lives of our ancestors.

This has NOT become a genealogy site in the true sense of the word. There are no databases to search. It is a sophisticated social networking platform to breathe life into genealogy from a totally different perspective and to help others embark on a journey woven in a fabric of a variety of peoples and their cultures.

I've often wondered, as perhaps some of you have, why so many millions of us have become so fixated on doing family research. The motivating factor certainly can't be the collection of names, places and dates. There must be something more deeply rooted, much more powerful that brings us all to this place.

During the 27 year journey of doing my own family research, I remember vividly the moment where the fireworks went off and the instant I made it a mission to learn more about my family. The more and more I traveled, the more and more I developed a better understanding of myself; my motivations amd the spirit that drives me. There is no doubt that the lives of those that came before me, my ancestors, played a dramatic role in this development. Some good, some not so good!

Looking back and now forward, I have chosen to follow my passion, taking a slight departure from the norm; to begin to look at genealogy through a different set of lenses. This path which includes being a columnist for The Examiner and the creator of this site, genealogy should begin to take on another dimension, one which fosters better understanding amongst each other and the different cultures of the world.

A bit esoteric perhaps, but then everything I've ever done has been equally so, in their day!

A near death experience in January,2007 changed the course of my life forever. It was unexplainable and at times daunting. And it reached so deep, deeper than I had ever ventured before. While it seemed that I had been doing my life's work, this experience created some doubt. If that was indeed the truth, why was I given this second chance at life?

Perhaps this new platform will enable us to get to more of the heart of the matter of our family research, a deeper sharing of experiences and creating even stronger bonds.

I'm reminded of the song from 1967 by The Youngbloods.

"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together try to love one another right now."

It's true. We live in both very exciting times and very troubling times. But we live in a time where we really do have an opportunity to change; change how we think and feel about ourselves; change how we think and feel about others. We have an opportunity to teach the next generations the importance of preservation, the importance of respect, and the importance of tolerance. I can think of no better modality than through the study and sharing of our genealogies, our research and through our feelings.

This site has definitely evolved since its inception a few short months ago, born out of an experience that impacted my life once again and the lives of others. In just a few short weeks, it has taken on the shape of a sophisticated social networking platform, yet with a specific focus, "where genealogy and spirit connect".

We hope you will all begin to breathe some life through your participation in the forums, blogs, articles, chats, groups and new friendships. It is starting off plum empty. There are ideas in place for forums, articles, groups, but you are free to create your own. I am really very excited, once again, to watch something take on a form and shape of its own through the collective energy and spirit of so many people.

Please don't hesitate to use the tools available to invite your friends and family to join with you in this experience. Feel free to use theh the tools in place to share your work on your pages of your other social networks. Together we can both mentor each other and learn from each other through this unique concept. And this is not all there is! We will continue to drive new ideas and technologies into place to further develop this experience.

There is no right or wrong, better or worse or separation by color, creed, ethnicity, nationality or beliefs. Some will love it and some will hate it. Some will understand it and some will not. Some will see value in it and some will not. Some will indeed share the same phiosophical values of restoring peace to this earth. And then some will not.

We each share a journey, different paths perhaps, some similar and some remarkably different. Our parents and their parents did as well. Rabbi Alvin Fine captured the essence in the following poem:

Birth is a beginning
And death a destination
And life is a journey;
From childhood to maturity
And youth to age;
From innocence to awareness
And ignorance to knowing;
From foolishness to discretion
And then, perhaps to wisdom;
From weakness to strength
Or strength to weakness----
And often, back again;
From health to sickness
And back, we pray, to health again;
From offense to forgiveness
From loneliness to love
From joy to gratitude,
From pain to compassion,
And grief to understanding---
From fear to faith;
From defeat to defeat to defeat ----
Until, looking backward or ahead,
We see that victory lies
Not at some high place along the way,
But in having made the journey, stage by stage,
A sacred pilgrimage.

Birth is a beginning
And death a destination
And life is a journey,
A sacred pilgrimage ---
to life everlasting

Susan