The Wonderful Thing About Cousins

Did you ever have one of those weird cousins who just made you wonder about the gene pool you were swimming in? Perhaps you instead had a wonderful cousin that you looked up to with awe. Regardless, each one was in the family.

I can’t say that I had anyone in the former category that I personally knew. There are some cousins that I have questioned their stances on particular subjects. I also know that some of my family questions my thought processes and actions. Sometimes we just can’t figure people out, especially those that seem like they should be close to us.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Getting to know your family can do a lot of things to your emotions. In general, people like to know who is in the family. You may find that you are more compassionate when you get to know a family member that bugged you in the past. Maybe he just joined the family and now you need to learn to get along better. It can be stressful when you realize a family member has an opposing view from yours.

Sometimes, this could lead to you questioning your sanity, or theirs, or both. It can help you see a point of view that you had previously not seen, or one that you did not allow yourself to consider. Knowing your family members can really be disturbing to your safe, comfortable, and sometimes myopic world. Suddenly, you are thrust into new concepts or paradigms.

I am not saying that everything that someone in your family believes is correct. Sometimes those beliefs are downright dangerous. As a student of history, I understand how seemingly altruistic intentions can turn into horrible forces of hate and destruction. Often easily swayed, people, if unaware of the consequences of a series of events make poor choices when they are presented.

Ancestors Made Choices

Just like each of us today, our ancestors made choices. Some were good and some were bad. Sometimes they chose to not choose, which is a choice too. Each of those choices molded not only who we are, but the world as it is today. Some chose to leave their homeland. Others chose to stay and protect their way of life.

Each of us has the power of choice. How often do you choose to judge your cousins? Who are your cousins?

I am intrigued by the relations I find. Using Ancestry’s application called Relative Finder, I am discovering all kinds of new relationships. Some of them push my buttons a little bit. What one person finds fascinating, another may find repulsive. Here is a short list of some of the possible relationships I have discovered in the app.

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Theodore Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
Barack Obama
George (H) W Bush
Robin Williams
Gloria Steinem
Ted Williams
George Orwell
Michael Moore
Emily Post
Walt Witman
Walt Disney
Alex Haley
Henry Ford

The list goes on and on. I gladly claim some of these, and others, I used to stop and ponder. I came to the realization, that they are all my family. As I come to embrace my family, I learn to see people as more than a stance. I begin to see them for their humanness. Through understanding relationships, I learn to judge less and love more. When I do this, the world is a better place. I know that you are working on creating this too, so lets keep working to find our cousins.

Interested in learning more about your family or why you should? Take a look at Turning Your Family To History.