A: In missing my grandparents. My mother has said she was terribly Scottish, whatever that means. It was in her ways, I suppose.
Q: What were her ways?
A: Meticulous about everything, I suppose..my father was criticised all of the time about one thing or another..and my father's father was very reserved. They both worked extremely hard all of their lives. They both started in a rather impoverished background, and worked their ways separately, to meet on a ship to America.
Q: How much do you miss your grandparents?
A: Oh, that will be revealed when I step foot in those places they once knew, the Highlands is where I need to go.
In what seems to be a field where countless clashes have startled the windswept grass, I might discover something about this mystical desire to step into the rich history of Scotland. Don't ask me why I need to go..I couldn't tell you..it is the common reasoning behind "finding one's roots" that I need to go to Scotland, but my reasons touch deeper pockets.
Call it a chance. My first impression may be my last if something disturbs the web of illusion that has formed about it's culture, it's people, and the places I plan to go. Then, it may just be an introduction to many more visits, even eventual settlement in this forming independent nation.
But to all that read this, we all have a sacred arm to a distant past. However abstract this need may be, it calls within us, tugs at us to leave our native lands and go to those of our ancestry. Sometimes, it is to go to our native land to satisfy this need..say, years after a move from a town where you lived. It is a part of the evolution of the spirit that we practice the regression, as many see a move as a step up.
In your tracks over time, you retrace the same steps. Wonderment, pain, or a sense of not knowing might flood your thoughts as you try to rediscover. Do have courage, for the good memories will supercede the disturbing times...and if you are innocent to the land, walk it's roads and fields with vigilance, and catch what you can. You may see why your ancestors decided to move away to what they thought was a new beginning, a step above, or just a change of pace...or you may wonder why they ever moved away at all.....
With faith, I am out to discover the deeper meaning behind my need to visit what was my ancestry's home. Let it be that I lay my tracks to the Highlands!
