We Are Family

If we looked at the last 10 generations of our family tree, imagine all of the relatives we would discover. (Karin Hildebrand Lau/Shutterstock)

Recently, my family has enjoyed using a variety of online resources to trace our family tree. The maturation of the internet has facilitated the ability to dig deeper than ever before into one’s genealogy. It’s amazing what you can find out, and in what detail, about your family history, sometimes going back many generations.

An interesting realization emerges when one fills in more and more details of one’s family tree. As you go back, the tree continues to get broader, and with today’s ability to congregate vast amounts of data, you realize that at some point, the branches of everybody’s trees are going to be connected. 

Scientific American explained the math in a 2020 article: “In the nth generation before the present, your family tree has 2n slots: two for parents, four for grandparents, eight for great-grandparents, and so on. The number of slots grows exponentially. By the 33rd generation—about 800 to 1,000 years ago—you have more than eight billion of them.” 

In essence, it becomes clear that, at the end of the day, we are all family.

Seeing names, finding documents about individual lives, pinpointing historic events your relations participated in, finding connections to well-known figures, and thinking about the different cultural shifts and time periods your family members lived through, gives you a deepened understanding of society and humanity. 

As we seem to be living through a time when people fight and compete against each other, when division and animosity toward one another is commonplace, when people judge others flippantly and harshly, when many seem to view “other people” with suspicion or disdain—what if we stopped for a moment to realize we’re all part of the same giant family? Would that soften the animosity and contention a bit? Would it make some of the bitterness and belligerence subside?

It can be easy to view people we don’t know as unrelated to us—as strangers. A slight change in mindset might allow us to see others differently. The next time you’re walking down the street, or standing in line, or in the midst of a crowd, or at a large event—instead of thoughts that may be critical of or annoyed by the people around you, consider that they may share common ancestors with you. They may just be part of your family.

This starting point may help us to cultivate more compassion and understanding for those around us. It may encourage us to consider not only our aims and needs but those of even the so-called strangers among us. It may awaken a renewed curiosity of different cultures and customs. It may give us pause when we are tempted to pass judgment, admonish, or vilify a fellow human being.

If you haven’t dug into your own family history, I encourage you to do so. It’s a great activity to share with your children or grandchildren and might lead you to amazing discoveries about your family. We found FamilySearch.org to be especially helpful.