  Spiritual
This week: In Living Color Edited by: Sophy New Year  
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Hi, I'm Sophy New Year ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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A couple of years ago while researching my family tree online, I discovered my maternal 8th Great Grandfather Robert was one of the founders of Salisbury, Massachusetts soon after he came across the pond from England in 1635. In putting together my family tree these last few years, he turned out to be one of my most well-known and heroic ancestors. He not only defended women accused of witchcraft, but also stood up for religious freedom by refusing to whip three Quaker women who had been arrested for sharing their faith, which was against the law. He was a hero of his time.
As I continued to delve more into my family tree, I knew there were bound to be ancestors I’d be less proud of than my 8th Great Grandfather. As with most whose family lines have been in the US for several generations, I’ve come across ancestors who fought for the Union Army during the Civil War, as well as those who fought for the Confederate Army. Due to their southern location, I anticipated some of them owned slaves – and recently discovered the will of my paternal 5th Great Grandfather Joseph, who willed his slaves to his sons upon his death. Joseph lived a long and fruitful life in Virginia for 90 years. Born around 1753, he fought with the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War. He had nine children – 5 daughters and 4 sons.
It appears he was somewhat well off – leaving slaves and sums of money to his widow and children. He owned 8 slaves, of whom we only know their first names – Danial, Booker, Lavinia, Mary, Margaret, Bill, Eliza, and Jordan. I have so many questions about them. Was their last name the same as mine? Did they live long enough to see their freedom? One hopes the younger ones did – though emancipation certainly didn’t mean they had an easy life after they were free. Danial and Booker and Lavinia and Mary and Margaret and Bill and Eliza and Jordan are as much a part of my family history as Robert and Joseph – though because they were not considered full persons, there are few, if any records of them beyond Joseph’s will. They weren’t even listed in the 1830 or 1840 Census by name – just a tally mark on a page based on their age-range and gender.
Joseph probably isn’t my only ancestor who owned slaves. If you lived in the south through the first 2/3 of the 1800's you owned slaves if you could afford them. Still, it is sobering to see their names in print and know that my 5th and 4th great grandparents, perhaps all the way down through my 3rd and possibly 2nd great grandparents owned other human beings as property. And while I realize that our history can inform us without defining us, the choice provided by taking stock of our place in the world is to decide what direction we will move society and what legacy we will leave for our descendants. In other words, my feeling bad about Danial, Booker, Lavinia, Mary, Margaret, Bill, Eliza, and Jordan doesn’t change anything on its own. We all have villains and heroes in our past. What defines us is whether we choose to ignore or do something about the lessons of their life and legacy.
Every once in a while, talk of making amends, or reparations to African Americans for our shameful history comes up - most recently two female African American political candidates raised the issue as part of their campaigns in Georgia and Missouri. I don’t if these latest calls will go anywhere – they haven’t in the past, even though the United Nations as recently as 2016 called on the US find a way to do so. But even if the US never offers any financial reparations to our African American citizens, there are ways we can do so as individuals, with the investment of our intelligence, humility, persistence, and our souls. And while it does not offer a financial reparation, it does offer the beginning of proactive social healing as we reach out beyond our comfort zones, examine our biases, transcend the worst of our heritage, acknowledge our privilege, speak up for equality and justice as we speak out against racism, and listen to the stories of those most harmed by our collective history.
My recent discovery of Danial, Booker, Lavinia, Mary, Margaret, Bill, Eliza, and Jordan makes me want to take a more in-depth look at what I’ve inherited both genetically and spiritually from my parents and grandparents and great grandparents, and use it an opportunity to decide which legacy I am going to be defined by, which one am I going to carry forward, as opposed to sailing on the unexamined black and white currents that carry us along if we don’t pay attention to the colorized version of life all around us. |
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Here is a response to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (April 4, 2018)" "A Time of Rebirth and Renewal:"
From shepherd46
Wonderful article, Sophy! Spring is indeed a wonderful time of year, a time for hope.
Morningstar
     
From lauradena 
Wow! Absolutely on point with my current situation! Immediately prior to reading this, I posted a message thread explaining my absence from my writing career as I raised a family, and am now re-entering after technology has changed the writing process so much! I've dabbled over the years in between, but nothing serious. I'm back, a sort of rebirth, to the writing world and this newsletter has given me a sort of "boost" in terms of inspiration! Not only did I learn a little about the history of the Easter holiday, but I feel more inspired to return to my creating! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it - and you are welcome! 
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! Sophy New Year |
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Spiritual: May 02, 2018 Issue [#8876]
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