How Your Roots May Inspire Your Legacy

Personal photo of the author’s collection. My grandmother and grandfather, their baby daughter Pauline and their son Arthur Clinton.

When I first sat down to begin writing this post, I didn’t know where I would go with it. All I knew was that I wanted to document the things I was learning from researching my family tree. What you’ll find below are just a few of the many lessons my ancestors have taught me and how they’ve shaped my life forever.

LIFE IS PAINFULLY SHORT; LIVE IT WELL.

One of the most obvious lessons I learned is just how precious and brief our time here is. From the 1500s to the 1800s, the average life expectancy was around 30–40 years old. By 1900, life expectancy had ticked upward to about 49 years of age. By 2000, it was around 77. And here in 2022, it’s sitting at approximately 79. Our ancestors lived awfully short lives. They had to focus on the things that mattered because no one had time to spare.

I’ve often wondered if our lives would look much different if we knew we only had 30–40 years to live. There are so many things I imagine we’d quit immediately — all the time sucks we’ve allowed to steal from us. Social media, Netflix, and online shopping…