HOMELAND
Some time ago, in the spirit of remembering ones ancestors (including the forgotten ones), I undertook a DNA-analysis at 23andme.com, which traces ones ancestral lineages several hundred years back.
According to the various models of the ancestry composition, I am from 98,7% to a 100% European. More specifically I am 83,2% Northern European, 13,5% broadly European and 2,1% Eastern European. Over half of my DNA can be traced as dominantly Finnish. The other half is a mixture of (in this order) broadly Northern European, Scandinavian, French and German, British and Irish, Eastern European and slightly less than one percentage of Ashkenazi Jewish.
My family from both the paternal and maternal sides has its roots in areas by the Baltic sea of southern Finland. According to what I know and have heard of my family tree and history, outside of Finland I have ancestors in Germany and Sweden. These two countries came up first after Finland in the "Countries of Ancestry" tool of the website, which seems to verify the stories of my parents. I was previously unaware of some of the less dominant genetic ancestral streams which were revealed.
As far as recent ancestry, my forefathers have been doctors, priests and seafarers. To these hereditary lines I have attributed my strong wanderlust as well as many of my interests and passions.
Most modern Europeans, like myself, are a result of an intermixing of European tribes, which is still surprisingly homogenous and Eurocentric. Instead of obsessing over nationalities and petty, surface differences, Europeans should recognize their deeper unity and spiritual connection. If anything, Europe is a family of nations.
Contrary to popular belief, as humans we are not mere rootless automatons, who enter into the world as tabula rasa, with no particular inborn, inherent qualities. This view is the dogma of universalist religions and ideologies, who want to make everyone subservient to the one true god or obedient believers, consumers and workers.
We are formed by our forebears stretching back millennia, from whom we inherit not only our physical qualities, but also spiritual sentiments and attitudes particular to us. These sentiments reflect the specific worldview that has been born from a long-standing interaction with (and often struggle against) nature specific to the people. This worldview in turn emerges as authentic culture, which is the outward expression of the soul rooted in spiritual homeland.
In my case, my compass points North - and to its often both brutal and beautiful nature. My earliest childhood memories involve experiencing the tumultuous sacrality and terrible awe of this nature - a thunderstorm that shook the windows of our ancestral countryside house, and the clear, starry sky at midwinter night. As a Finn and Northern European, I feel that these things, and the pure, crystalline lakes, the lush, dark forests and the stormy sea have been etched into the soul of my ancestors and left their imprints deep in mine.
Universalist gods and their prophets will offer us nothing but slavery. Rejecting our inherent, ancestral nature and superimposing some foreign identity on ourselves, whether religious, political or ideological, will ultimately lead to a dead end, as it is rare for things to grow without roots. We cannot become something we are not. Rather, we should try to connect with the vestiges of spirit as they are manifested closest to us, via our ancestral roots, common culture and spiritual heritage.
Ancestry and spirituality are intimately linked. Soil and soul are inexorably connected. Blood is a fountain of memory. Embrace who you are and where you come from, wherever that might be. Find your tribe and find your soul.