Grandma and Them Be Knowing

Proverbs 13:14Grandma and them be knowing.I just got back from Wild Goose in North Carolina—shout-out to my Wild Goose family! A highlight was Jaki Shelton Green’s workshop. She’s been North Carolina’s poet laureate since 2018.She invited us to close our eyes, feel our cells and imagine the lineage they carry—the lives of our ancestors.Now, I’m the average American male. My emotional acuity hasn’t been sharp, but I’m working on it! So I sat, eyes closed, an obedient but wild goose, leaning into something a little “woo-woo.”But baby, I was there for it.My father’s family comes from the Carolinas. Sitting there in North Carolina, listening inwardly, something felt familiar. Low-key creepy—but curiously strong. And no, this ain’t an Altoids commercial.So, were my ancestors speaking through my cells? You might say I can’t prove that, but poetically? I’d say, “ABSOLUTELY.”Thank you, Jaki Shelton Green—you got a new fan for life!It reminded me how close inherited wisdom can be.Before Google answered everything, Grandma and them already knew. They could eye a situation and say, “Don’t fool with that.” No search bar. No tutorial. Wisdom tested by living and offered before we knew enough to ask.Proverbs 13:14 says:“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.”Wisdom doesn’t merely give information. It becomes a fountain—something living that bubbles up from within, refreshes us and redirects us.Age alone doesn’t make anybody wise, and every inherited idea isn’t sacred. Some family patterns need healing, not handing down. But when wisdom is shaped by God, tested through life and passed on in love, don’t overlook the fountain because it didn’t come with a hyperlink.Your progenitors—the people before you—may have left more than a name. Their prayers, warnings and lessons may help you recognize snares. Maybe the algorithm is already in your cells. All you gotta do is learn how to regularly tap in.Honor the wise voices God placed in your life. Ask questions. Listen closely. Keep going back to the fountain.It may be closer than you think.All of sacred texts say the Divine is “closer than close.” The Qur’an says: “closer than the jugular vein” (50:16). The Bible: “the word is in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8). Even the Chandogya Upanishad says God dwells in the heart’s sacred lotus” (8.1.1). So, yea. Closer than blood. Closer than breath. Maybe even in our very cells.REMEMBERKeep returning to the fountain; its wisdom travels in your cells.PRAYERGod, help me receive and carry life giving wisdom today.TODAY’S CHALLENGECall an elder. Ask, “What did life teach you before I was born?” Record the answer and carry it forward. Get full access to Hey Fred Lynch! at heyfredlynch.substack.com/subscribe