Oh, what a Cast of Characters You’ve met!

December 10, 2024

If Hollywood were re-running your life so far, the commentator would surely say:  “Oh, what a cast of characters you’ve met!”  And you would say:   “You don’t know half of it!”

Appreciating Your Cast of Characters

You may feel that reviewing all the people who have touched your life may cause you harm – because you might remember when it felt like harm.  But there is a completely different way to watch all the hundreds of people who float in your memory somewhere.  You can see them as a cast of characters who played a role in your saga.   I invite you to take a fresh look at them all.

Your Official Ancestors

Many people start here, with the ones for whom you have documentation, such as: birth and death records, national census records, military records, family bibles, letters and photos from generations past.  However, this is very time consuming and may in fact be a little irrelevant -- because you do not belong to the official line; you belong to the world; you come from the world.

Your Bio-Ancestors

Speaking of which (belonging to the world), until recent advances in genetics, no one knew for sure who their father or grandfathers really were.  Many social customs are based on the maternal line of inheritance for that very reason.  Whoever those ancestors were, you owe them some real gratitude, because they passed on to you their strengths, with their intense hope that you would overcome their weaknesses, and rise high in the nobility they would have liked to attain.

Your Heartfelt Family Tree

For real support to carry on, you actually rely upon your Heartfelt Family Tree, the ones who appeared to protect your life like a brother, or guide your life like an uncle, or give you a sympathetic ear like a grandmother, or learn from you sweetly like a little niece.  You can experience all these relationships and more in former, current, or latter generations, as you come upon members of your Heartfelt Family Tree.

Encountering Extremes

Some shining characters pass through your life like a shooting star. They light up your life with new ideas, new hope, and a better sense of who you are becoming. It’s appealing to put them in a “Hall of Honour”.At the other extreme, some harmful characters may oppress you for a time. They teach you the high value of courtesy by their rudeness, kindness by their cruelty, or truthfulness by their deception. It’s tempting to put them in a “Rogues Gallery.”

All of us are “In Process”

In some way, even those persons on the extremes served to advance your life – either by their assistance or their opposition.  And as you observe the vast majority of ordinary people, you may discover a universal truth: no one has finished their process.  You and all others have virtues and flaws that define your individuality.  What matters is that each human keeps on cultivating a better Self. 

For more on the methods, techniques, and benefits of reviewing the cast of characters in your life,  check out related events at https://www.personalartofliving.com/online-events.