As I struggle with understanding of why I have such a strong attachment to Ireland, such a small island in the Northern Atlantic, but one with a deep, long, rich ancient history and culture, I am inclined to think, as many have suggested, that it is in my DNA. I not only inherited the talents of my ancestors, and their mental and physical attributes, but it appears that I inherited, on an unconscious level, their traumas of living through the agony of such wretched, wicked, and evil times, resulting with many of my Irish families being forced out of Ireland, with the added trauma of starting over in a new country, where often they did not fit in.
But, of course, not all the Irish left. I must have many, many distant family lines still in Ireland. Sometimes I wonder if their DNA is still holding on tightly to the trauma of those ghastly times, or, because they stayed, were they able to heal much of the trauma stored in their DNA? The descendants of those who stayed eventually started experiencing and seeing Ireland flourish again; that alone feeds health into the soul, and can help heal the unconscious ties of past traumas.
Could it be that those of us with ancestors forced out of Ireland may still have parts of our unconscious, and our DNA, still locked into what happened in the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s? Those of us whose ancestors left did not see, first hand, nor experience, Ireland heal and flourish. It could be we have not had the opportunity to heal our unconscious memories, and DNA from those traumatic times. For many, perhaps, these traumas remain buried in the unconscious; festering in ways that are not understood.
My children have incredible lives. They are world travelers and couldn’t possibly relate to what happened to their ancestors in Newfoundland, or Ireland; and I am sure it is that way for many Irish children as well. But, are the Irish children living their lives with a healed unconscious, while some American children, with strong Irish DNA, are living their lives with unknown unresolved issues festering under the surface of their consciousness? They all seem to want to go to Ireland? Why? Do all Irish children want to go to America? Probably not; at least not with the same amount of driving force as many Irish Americans seem to, in my humble opinion.
Life, indeed is complex, as is the study of family history, as some of us try to figure out how we landed where we are in life. In a spiritual group that I belong to, we started thinking of ways to honor our ancestors during the Halloween season, and not just to have it be about taking the children out trick or treating, which, of course, is always fun. Some of us would visit an ancestor’s grave and energetically bless the site with salt, herbs, high pitched bells and singing, with the intent and hope that whatever trauma was unresolved in their life would be released permanently. Now I am thinking that perhaps next Halloween season, I might suggest to the group that we recognize there are past traumas stored in all our DNA, in one form or another, and it is not our ancestors’ traumas that need to be healed, but the traumas that are stored in our own DNA that we inherited from them. And perhaps, when those with Irish roots visit Ireland, their unconscious mind can see and experience for itself how Ireland has healed from those times and has flourished; maybe then, their DNA inherited trauma will be released and permanently healed….Happy St Patricks Day.