Dear Mrs Rosa
Here is an exercise you can try. You will need a large sheet of paper and a pencil.
In small letters write your name at the centre of the paper.
Draw a rectangle above your name. Insert the name of your mother.
Draw a rectangle below your name. Insert the name of your father.
Draw 2 oval shapes above and 2 oval shapes below. Insert the names of your 4 grandparents.
Draw 4 pentagons above and 4 pentagons below. Insert the names of your 8 great grandparents. Can you fill every pentagon ?
Draw 8 circles above and 8 circles below. Insert the names of your 16 great great grandparents. Many of them are blank?
Draw 16 squares above and 16 squares below. Insert the names of your 32 great great great grandparents.
Draw 32 triangles above and 32 triangles below. Insert the names of your 64 great great great great grandparents. How many triangles remain empty?
Put your pencil in an empty triangle. Close your eyes and imagine the real living person who lived three hundred years ago and made a tiny contribution to your genetic make up. Invent a name for him and imagine what he was like in appearance and disposition.
Move on to another empty triangle, and another etc. All these triangles represent real people who lived and breathed. Each one was no more or no less important than your Adam.
If Adam could speak to you from beyond the grave, would he tell you that he wants his earthly remains to lie undisturbed?
Kindly yours
Katy