From Shadows to Legacy: Unearthing the Strength of Our Ancestral Past
How I used ancient wisdom to improve my daily life
“If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”—Maya Angelou
This article is about finding and harnessing the power of our ancestral roots in our everyday lives. These roots are powerful because they hold the tree of our lives.
A little personal history so that you know where I am coming from. Regarding my immediate ancestors, other than my maternal grandmother, I have very little recollection of anyone else. I am of Greek ancestry, with roots in the cities of today’s eastern Turkey and Istanbul. My immediate ancestors came to Greece as refugees in the turbulent times of the early 1900s, mostly with their clothes on their backs.
So forget about records of ancestry. All I know about previous generations is from vague anecdotal descriptions from my maternal grandmother (my maternal grandfather died while I was a baby). The most memorable part is that Annika, her mother, worked as a housekeeper at Dolmabahce Palace. I was told that Annika was also a renowned cook who had a real talent for combining ingredients, spices, aromas, and textures to create the most delectable Turkish dishes.
