Typically, one can find me with my eyes glued to a book – electronic or paper – as evidenced by the profile picture I have. That’s me, sitting on the beach, reading a book. Now, to further that image, people who know me well are aware that I do not like going to the beach. I’m more of a forests and mountains type of person. Thus, I brought a book with me for a trip to the beach. 🙂 The picture is about eight years old, but today you can find me doing the same thing – constantly reading.

Currently, I am reading Nimue Brown’s book “Druidry and the Ancestors”, which has been a very different perspective for me. She approaches topics from the perspective of three types of ancestors – Ancestors of Blood, Place and Tradition. Much of the material presents a viewpoint I had never truly considered, so its fairly fresh – and at times, a little confusing. But like anything I read, it has provided an implication to my thinking that has allowed me to examine my own understanding of the world around me with a new lens.

I am a very connections oriented individual. When I look at things – physical things, beliefs, politics – I always try to find the corroborating threads of connection. Or if you may indulge me a moment, those threads of relation. How does this one thing fit into the entire picture? Where is that fitting between these two, three or many things? For me, at least, its understanding how those connections work that provides me with perspective.

So I started to look at some of the connectivity aspects of my various relationships. A short analysis found that I have a much stronger connection with people not in my local area. I do have some strong connections here, but my strongest and longest lasting connections have come with people in far-flung places from Texas. England, Germany, Holland, Australia, Washington State, California, Pennsylvania….none of these places is very near. And many of these people I have never met face to face. How does a strong connection get made so easily? I am not sure I can really answer this question definitively.

There are lots of factors to consider – individual personality, common interests, common personal background, etc etc. I am not sure that I could round anything down to one specific aspect. And yet it is there. Strong connectivity across a long distance. If I had to try and bring a “labeling” about for it, I would most likely utilize Nimue’s perspective on Ancestors of Tradition. That there is something in our backgrounds, particularly in our beliefs, that connects us together. Trying to explain that, will probably take time…a lot of it.

I just have to be cognizant that it takes one step at a time to achieve this understanding…its not going to arrive in my head like a lightning bolt from the blue…