Coming home: a trip to my ancestors' homeland and to gratitude for the risks that they took9/25/2017 By Betsy Hostetler, Ph.D. I’m startled to see that I have only a few minutes to change planes. I’m on my way to study Family and Systemic Constellations in Germany, and it’s not clear that I’ll make the connection. I take a deep breath and imagine it working out fine. Surprised by my own reaction, I remember a time when anxiety would have driven me to make back-up plans even though no sound data existed. I think of constellation sessions I’ve done, and I understand where this new sense of calm is coming from. Even though I don’t know what will happen next, I come home to my breath and to myself. I change planes easily, without trouble, either external or internal. In reality, every moment of our lives is a surprise. Each of us finds ways to deal with the fact that we don’t actually know what’s going to happen next. Sometimes we make plans, sometimes we wait and worry. Some charge ahead while others hold back in an effort to keep safe. Goethe wrote, “Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success.” Bert Hellinger, the originator of Family Constellations, said to facilitators about to enter the field, “You have to wait, and be willing to not know. If you do, something might come to you and you follow it. If you don’t, no more information will come.” I thought of my ancestors who traveled from their homeland centuries earlier, leaving Germany to avoid religious persecution. Though they faced challenging circumstances, they found a way to make it work. They homesteaded in Switzerland at first, planting crops on foreign soil. After a time, Christian Hochstetler, a young man, set off on his journey. He traveled through the Black Forest to reach Amsterdam and made it in time to catch the ship that took him to a new life in America. I sit on the plane now, crossing the Danube River, and feel the faint echo of the ones who came before me. I’m grateful they took the risk to venture out, not knowing if they’d have safe passage or not. I’m grateful they did what it took to survive. Even though I’m 35,000 feet up in the air, I feel more grounded. Melody Allen, my co-director of the 2017 North American Systemic Constellations Conference, and I invite you to join us at the pre-conference and conference Oct. 5-8 in Virginia Beach, Va.. Feel and remember the passage of your people and how their journeys live now in your DNA. We give a warm welcome to all the travelers, both you and the ones who live in you.
Join us for the 2017 North American Systemic Constellations Conference Oct. 5-8 in Virginia Beach, Va., for health professionals, educators, business and life coaches, consultants, clergy, community activists, change makers and others interested in alternative health and innovative practices. A pre-conference is also available. More info here. We'd love to have you subscribe to our e-letter here.
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