Am I being a good ancestor?
This question was put to us at yesterday’s session of the Regenerators leadership journey …
And I found myself wondering … ancestor to whom?
My niece?
My community?
Humanity?
Our planet?
Are there things I could do that would benefit one of these, but harm another? What behaviours might there be that would make me a good ancestor in all of these areas?
These are big questions, and I love that Laura Storm encourages us to sit with them, to consider them, and not rush to conclusions.
[Although I suspect the answer – as usual – will be some variation of “It depends.”]
I’m used to hearing these future-focused questions phrased as some variation of ‘Legacy’, which has a tendency to focus us internally – on self:
“What will MY legacy be?”
But reframing it as ‘Ancestor’ shifts the focus to the external – to others:
“Am I being a good ancestor for THEM?”
