Our Human Family

I watched the documentary The Human Family Tree on the National Geographic channel. It explained about the Genographic Project, which is trying to map lineages and migrations of everyone back to our common mother and father in Africa. All evidence is showing that we all genetically have a common father, or "scientific Adam," who lived some 60,000 years ago. Our common mother with whom we all link genetically, or "scientific Eve," dates back even farther, beyond 100,000 years ago.

Pondering this gives me chills. In a good way. Every person alive today is genetically related to each of us; we are all connected, in a very real and very tangible and scientifically-verifiable way. We are all brothers and sisters. Or actually very, very distant cousins, but still...

God most definitely did this on purpose. Perhaps now that we truly know this for certain, thanks to science, we will embrace the knowledge that we all have an actual vested interest in one another and, perhaps, actually act like it.

But God's designs always provide a multitude of positive blessings: as our ancestors traveled to different continents tens of thousands of years ago, they began to change and adapt to their environments, even physically, and were able to develop culture and language in unique ways due to isolation. It was through these ancient migrations that we developed race, ethnicity, language, culture, art, and technologies of varying levels. It is through these migrations which created fascinating and beautiful differences among people. And as we merge back together, as a united human family, all of the best that we each contribute will come to the fore. In breaking us up, God is perfecting us.

It is only now, through the modern age of technology and communication, and the ability of world-wide immediate migration, that we are all reunited. And we have some catching up to do, which is going to be fun. In dealing with people who look, speak, and act different than you, try to appreciate where they come from. Try to see the beauty in the different, because it is there. And remember that, literally, the path their ancestors took meets up at some point with your ancestor's path. I reckon we is all kinfolk. Time for a global hootenanny, y'all.