Weaving the Old into the New

Allowing the beauty of the ancient ones to reach us here in the now, in a form that may serve and enrich the evolution of the soul.

What are we touching upon when we speak of traditions?

In their most heartful expression, traditions weave together the wisdom collected through many generations. Ways of life, rituals, and practices that have been seen to nourish, the one along with the whole.

The root of the word tradition stems from the word “tradere”. Composed of the words trans, meaning “over” and dare, meaning “to give”. To give over. The pass on. To offer up. Its roots stem from the intention to pass on that which has served and supported the generations before. Offer it up to the new ones, so they may be enriched by it in turn.

At one point traditions were held onto so tightly that there was no room to stray. No space for something else. They became a dogma of sorts that made life only valuable through the lens of that tradition. Anything different was swiftly cut out, for nobody wanted to question the truth.

Then the pendulum swung the other way, and out of fear, innovation, or perhaps a rebellious spirit, traditions themselves were cut away, deemed old-fashioned and serving no purpose. People began to move in a way that was unguided and astray. Trying to figure it all out on their own. No more was there a pathway to follow that led one into the arms of their community, their ancestors, and their purpose.

So you see, either of these ways isn’t quite it. One is a tight dogma that leaves no space for individuality and growth. The other is lost in individualism and has forgotten the meaning found in the old ways.

The pendulum swung, one extreme found another, and I feel as though now is the time we are finding the middle path. Now so many are remembering the true value of certain traditions. The meaning behind certain rituals that serve to nourish, to make one a part of something bigger, to remember the collection of wisdom from the ancient one. While at the same time honouring how life has changed since then. How it will never be like that again. And so, in the face of that, how may these traditions evolve to suit a new time, a new people, that hold different yet perhaps similar values?

I feel so much importance and beauty in looking back upon one’s lineage and exploring what lived in those spaces. Brushing off the dust. And maybe bringing bits and pieces of them here to us now. Another form of guidance. The lessons of our elders. AND at the same time not simply taking them at face value. Because the truth of that matter is so many of those traditions that stemmed from an authentic, heartfelt and meaningful offering, were smeared with the ideologies of so many different people not centred in true love for all. It takes a skilled hand to peel away the bullshit and find once again the essence that is its core. Taking what feels true, what serves you in these moments of your life, and allowing them to change with you. To be true to you.

The point isn’t to do it all how it was done before. The point isn’t also to forget it all. Here we are weaving the pieces of gold from the old, with the light of the new. They are the threads that in and of themselves hold truth, yet not the whole truth. And when brought together in a tapestry of creation, they are whole. Complete. Touching upon something of the present moment. These traditions that brought to us the beautiful plant wisdom that we work with today, the art of working with the land, and rituals of union and community. Here we may find guidance from the ancestors that are relevant and serving within our lives today. We honour both what was, and what is while weaving together what will be.

It is again this idea of both/and that I have mentioned before in some of my writings. Both are true. And grow even more complete with the embrace of the other.

It is a reminder that, yes, those old traditions that we’ve forgotten actually did offer something to those who practiced them. Some thread of guidance, some journey of a holy initiation. How may we bring them here in their full truth? How may we add to them the new wisdom that has been gained? How may we offer them as gifts to the new generations?

Within this remembrance, there is humility, for one grows out of the self and becomes a part of something whole. A lineage of wisdom keepers. Earth tenders. Infused with meaning and expanding from love.