The importance of Ancestry

Hello to all, so this is my first Blog and my first Post , and what a great way to start, by talking about the ancestors and the importance they have in our lifes. The Ancestors are the folk who lived long before us, where our roots lie, where we come from and where are we going, we must honor our ancestors because, so will us become ancestors of our decendants in time, we are linked to all our living kin, to our families. In the Norse pagan view, we are a part of a great "tapestry", which connectes us to the Gods and to our ancestors, our personal fates are influenced by the ancestors that came before us, of course i am not saying that we are fated to a certain destiny our a certain path, but rather that we have some inclinations to some things, doings and wishes. For instance, the three Norne, goddesses of fate, they sew up a great tapestry or the wyrd that connects us all to the natural world and to each and everyone of us, but they never end their work, which means that we are free to shape our lifes and find for our selfs our destinys.
There are specific days of the year to honor our ancestors, but of course we can do so everyday, by remembering them, giving the purest of love from our hearts, choosing the right paths and the right ways to do things. The answer is always there in our hearts and mind, meditate over choices you must take, it's a good start. Be wise, never do the first thing that comes into your mind, be rational, ponder things, the wise leader always knows which battle not to fight.
Back to the subject, we honor our ancestors for exemple, at the Day of the Einherjar, or in the celtic beliefs, the celebration of Samhain.
Here it is a good story to show the importance of the ancestors, about a king that today we still remember in celebration to our ancestors and the heros who have long gone.
King Radbod (680-719 CE ) King of the Frisians:
Christian missionaries came close to baptizing Radbod, but before carrying through with the ceremony and conversion he asked a question, "Where are my dead ancestors at present?" Wolfram the Christian missionary answered, "In Hell, with all other unbelievers." Upon hearing this, Radbod changed his mind about converting and replied, "Then I would rather live there with my honourable ancestors than go to heaven with a parcel of beggars ." Beggars here refers to the long-time enemies of the Frisians: the Franks who were by this point in time primarily Christian. Radbod expelled the missionaries from the kingdom for no other reason than how important his ancestors were to him.

Note: The Art work was made by me, a gift to my Grandfather at his 80th birthday. You can watch all of my works by clicking the Portfolio bellow to my Deviantart where other works of mine are.