1st Earth Touching

Imagine the dimension of time as a vertical line. Place yourself standing in the present on that line with the past above you and the future below you. Establish yourself in time. See all your ancestors that have come before you. The youngest generation of your ancestors is your parents. All of them are above you on this line of time. Then below you, see all your descendants, your children, your grandchildren and all their future generations. If you have no children, your descendants are the people you have touched in your life, and all the people they in turn influence. In you are both your blood ancestors and your spiritual ancestors. You touch the presence of your father and mother in each cell of your body. They are truly present in you, along with your grandparents and great-grandparents. Doing this, you realize you are their continuation. You may have thought that your ancestors no longer existed, but even scientists will say that they are present in you, in your genetic heritage, which is in every cell of your body. The same is true for your descendants. You will be present in every cell of their bodies. And you are present in the consciousness of everyone you have touched. This is real, not imagined. This is the first touching of the earth.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear p. 147–148