A part of who we are is a gift from our parents, from when we where made. It is written I our genes and besides our looks we also inherit parts of our personality. This all makes sense, we all know it, its a part of life.

The poem I found today was from Day 1215.

The roots

lay bare

reaching

up.

Or down?

Part of our roots are our parents, they pass on their genes passively to us, but the question I ask in this poem is: do they also pass on, when raising us, their interpretation of their genes?

Let me elaborate: if you inherit a gene that “stimulates” curiosity from one of your parents, but that parent was discouraged in using this genes potential in them self. Would that parent then use these experiences, or roots, to counteract that genes potential in you, while raising you?

There are obvious traits we inherit, we learn new ones when we grow up, and later when we live our life. It is true that finding the roots of all your traits is not necessary for living to the end of your life, but if you have ever looked at your parents, or even your grandparents, and you see a suppressed trait, you might want to look inside yourself, because if by chance you inherited a gene with an unknown potential, hidden out of sight, you might want to revive it.

We humans are not that great in living to our potential. We lean to far to a side where we shouldn’t lean to, or lean back and live a “half life”.

As Socrates said over 2000 years ago: “an unexamined life is not worth living”.