The Aim of This Site
An aim toward a particular goal necessitates establishing a cycle of endeavor to accomplish that aim. The cycle of endeavor is comprised of steps-in-the-process, a sequence of development that delineates the ways and means of getting from the present place or level, and by which the aim is achieved.
The aim of the Family History Web-Site is to connect our sense of individual identity to the that which is the broader base of our sense of who we are, that being how “family” gives us our sense of who we are, a sense of purpose as to the reason of our existence.
And the aim is to understand this, through the cycle of endeavor of establishing a place, a center repository, by which we explore and give unto this sense of identity, this sense of family, this sense, or dimension of life purpose.
One’s work, one’s giving of oneself unto service in society in some or another capacity, too, establishes identity, as does the place and people unto whom we do it all for, our family’s well-being. This is why when family gather, we inquire first of the connected family’s well-being, and move naturally to speak of one another’s work, and attitudes about it, and we explore learning of one another’s present sense of life purpose accordingly. So, we want the Aim of this Site to, thereby, not only be that of the general repository of family pictures and relations, and also, be not only a place of knowledge of one another’s life works, but too, the place of the stories of one another’s lives, and for one another to share those stories, and share one’s thinking and feelings regarding life’s purpose, and the meaning to our existence.
Life-stories exist in time, the stream of time, of all life. They exist as stories of significance from the past, stories of lives to which we have connection, life stories, that if not lived, we ourselves would not be. We gain meaning from the lives of those we love, or those we know we have a connection to, lives in which we know have care for us. And this point is important: The stories of our lives have meaning unto the future members and branches of one’s family, for our sense of purpose, at least partly, is existing for and on behalf of those who come after us.
The reaching into the past to discover the stories of those who have gone before us has been done to the extent of endeavor enabled thus far. That has value. Anything that can add to that, enhances the meaning. So, part of our Aim might be said to be, too, to continue the effort to expand-upon the stories of the lives that have gone before us. For the young entering the fold of this fabric of lives of family, of your parents, grandparents, siblings, et. al., this is a calling unto you: to extract these stories of your Elders now, while you have the chance.
The recent past, that is, the stories of our own lives that we know, is the easier to relate, but if not so laid-down and given, our story will dissipate, as have too many lost stories of those of our long past of which lives, if we had known more, would have given that much more of our sense of connected identity.
Thus, the Aim of this Site is, as well, then, to encourage that those touching it in the present, will add unto it in the present, their own stories, stories of interest presently, but certainly for meaning and purpose unto branches of family long into the unforeseen future, those yet-to-be to whose lives we do exist for now.