Family Hunger Genealogy

© Copyright Todd Neel

Sometimes we can be locked in our growth and development and we have difficulty getting beyond our blockages, things that hold us back. Connection with other people, including our families, might be a key to get to the next stage.

Our families can include our biological families, those we are connected to because of our DNA, and also through marriages. Legal families make us connected through pieces of paper and higher authorities, like the Courts.

And we also have Chosen families, those we choose to be actively involved with who we may be closer to than our birth families.

I want to thank my friend, former neighbor and former fellow band member, Jan Clizer, for the drawing of the oak tree and seed used throughout the book: Family Hunger – Breathe Life Into Your Family History. (See more comments about Jan and her art below.) I also want to thank Jan for her help in providing me feedback on various stages of the production of this book, adding artistic taste where I lacked it, for her help with editing the title of this book, and her many other artistic supports. Jan and I were in a band called  “The Nine Pint Coggies” where we explored our family and Celtic cultural heritage through music.

The original oak seed and tree drawing by Jan Clizer represent the fertile seeds of life, the vast potential of each individual living being, each of us different, yet each of us alike enough to call ourselves “kin,” giving us a sense of attachment and belonging. It is perfect in its imperfection, like our own families, like our family of humanity, which make us what we are in this moment in time which is continuously ticking on, like whitewater over the lip of the falls. We can’t stop it!

It also represents the interconnectedness of our roots, entwined and unseen under the soil, as well as the shade and comfort we can provide for one another from the harsh light from above. Not only does it represent the seeds of physical life, but also seeds of thoughts planted in another person if they are receptive to our sharing. It takes fertile ground and unique conditions for a seed to survive and thrive, ready to sprout anew, with creative ideas in one another. I didn’t create the seed, it was a gift given to me. I’m just a gardener, trying to make the soil ready to receive and sprout the fertile seed.

Just like my own family tree, there are some broken and dead branches in it, some imperfections, but when you can step back, get perspective and can see the wholeness of it, you can see it has beautiful, vibrant and abundant foliage and much potential!

Please see Jan’s web site www.janclizerpainting.com