The Family Name

The ancient philosophers believed that the nature and character of things were condensed and represented in their names. In many cultures, a person inherits the name of the family (surname) into which he or she is born.

And depending upon the custom, each will be given a personal name or names by which they are known.

Each individual’s personal or “given name” is a record of that person’s presence in the world for all time. It is one of the most permanent of possessions; it remains when everything else is lost; it is always owned even by those who possess nothing else.

Your family name which is your shared property by birth is greater than each individual family member. It has a life of its own. It is the product of all the individual lives of all your family members who have lived under its veil, and it is entrusted to your care to pass on in good health to future generations who will live under it.

When you inherit your family’s name even before your life has barely begun, each one of us partakes of the good fortune and shares in the achievements of those family members who have lived before you and who contributed to the value of your family name.

When you accept the gifts you inherit in your family name, you must also accept the responsibility to care for it and see that it is not harmed through your careless actions. Your family name is a valuable family possession to be proud of for the rest of your life.

To practice life-as-a-craft, learn the origins of your family name to fully appreciate your heritage and contribute to the value of your name for future generations’ inheritance.