words Al Woods
Discovering where we come from can make a significant difference to our identity. But learning about our heritage can be different from honouring it. It’s so important to discover your cultural identity, especially if there are gaps in your family tree. So with this in mind, what does it take to define your heritage, discover your heritage, and honour it?
Defining What Your Heritage Is
The heritage is a personal sense of identity, which consists of values, culture, and artefacts from previous generations. We accumulate a sense of our heritage throughout our lives as we start to observe things that are part of our family’s attitudes. Heritage can express itself in different ways. You can define your heritage as your identity, or you can look at values that have been passed on throughout the family down the years. It could relate to iconography like indigenous designs, but may also relate to attitudes, such as a work ethic or a love for religious figures. You may feel that your aptitudes can be a part of your heritage. If you have an affinity for indigenous designs and artistic creations, this could express itself as a career choice. Indigenous designs often form part of someone’s identity that they carry through into a career choice, such as fashion or being a tattoo artist.
How Can You Discover Your Heritage?
A lot of people have a very strong sense of their heritage and can regale people with stories and traditions that they heard from their parents or grandparents. But others may have to look closer to identify their heritage. This is where we have to start identifying our culture or ethnicity and how it shapes who we are. Additionally, we should look at our hobbies or interests and if they come from previous generations. You may also want to look at any traits or values that you see in your own descendants, or that you would like to see in them. And if you have not already started, a family tree is one of the best ways to start filling in the gaps. There are many family tree resources, and they can provide you with a lot of information about yourself that can shed light on your identity. As you explore your family tree, you may want to look for patterns, especially in relation to occupations. Additionally, you may want to turn to DNA testing and help you discover your ancestry.
How Can You Honour Your Heritage?
You can include elements of it in your own lives, live the more positive values of your genealogy, and participate in reunions. But, of course, if you want to discover your heritage, you could start travelling which truly opens your eyes to the world around you, but also can embed a thoroughly spiritual sensation into who you are.
Whether it’s a family tree, or incorporating some practices of it into your life, when you start to discover your heritage, it can be a simple way to figure out who you really are. It might even provide a lot of answers.
