Family Time – The Circle of Life

It’s the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The Circle of Life

–Elton John and Tim Rice “The Circle of Life”

In the wake of every major crisis, such as 9/11, the stock market crash of 2008, or the Covid pandemic, the demand for family travel always shoots up. It’s not so mysterious when you think about it. Moments of crisis are moments of clarity. Events that shake people to their foundations cause values to shift. We move away from the ephemeral and toward the things that endure. Family relationships are the most enduring things in life. They exist on another time scale than other things. They connect us generation by generation back to the beginning of human life.

I believe that family relationships exist on a more profound level than anything else in our experience. For whatever ancient and mysterious reasons, the experiences we share with family are of a higher order than most of our ordinary day-to-day activities. When something happens to shock us, we revert to our core values. At the center is family. It’s where we come from.

I don’t think there are words or concepts to explain exactly what family life consists of altogether, what it is we’re doing when we spend time with family. It is as ancient as humankind. It’s not “work” as such, but most people believe that there are certain underlying functions and responsibilities that are part of being a parent or grandparent, or a son, daughter or grandchild. There is a lot of learning and sharing, a lot going on in family relationships as we pass through the phases of life.

So how can we best fulfill our role in a family? Life is short. And although being a parent is a lifelong commitment, the period when your child is most under your influence is only about a decade and a half till they start to move beyond your sphere and create their own worlds. For grandparents, the time of active involvement with a grandchild is even more limited, and therefore that much more precious and rare. Whatever we would give to our family members, time is fleeting.

So what would be the best thing you could give to a son or daughter or grandchild? We all want to leave a nice inheritance to our children and grandchildren. But what might that be? A big bank account? A house? A car? A personal library? Certainly all those things are wonderful inheritances. But what is most important in life?…