My Heart Recognized It as Home

What is handed down by tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.

Gustav Mahler

When I read this quote, I thought about my ancestry.

I did not grow up with my French heritage as a strong influence in my life. My parents divorced when I was very young, and I spent little time with my paternal French grandparents. My mother was adopted, and beyond being told that her French parents had migrated from France to Canada and then to the United States, I knew very little about my family’s French roots or culture.

It is difficult to explain. No one taught me to slow down and savor life—to linger over coffee, value conversation, surround myself with books, or seek beauty in everyday moments. Yet those values seemed woven into me from the beginning. Inexplicably, I have always felt a natural affinity with all things French. When I first arrived in Paris, my heart recognized it as home. As I began reading about French culture, traditions, and daily habits, I realized that, in many ways, I had been living a French life without even knowing it. It felt familiar, instinctive, and entirely natural. Today, it remains an important part of who I am.

I realize that not everyone feels a strong connection to their ancestry or heritage. For some, family history is a central part of their identity; for others, it may seem distant or largely irrelevant. Yet it is difficult to deny that each of us is shaped, in ways both obvious and subtle, by the people and histories that came before us.

Our backgrounds, traditions, experiences, and family stories all contribute to who we become. Even when those stories are incomplete—or entirely unknown—they can leave traces behind. We inherit more than physical characteristics. We inherit values, perspectives, habits, and ways of viewing the world. Sometimes those influences are consciously passed from one generation to the next. Other times they seem to emerge naturally, as though they have been waiting to be discovered.

Perhaps that is why learning about our heritage can feel so meaningful. It does not necessarily tell us who we are, but it can help explain why certain places, traditions, or ways of life resonate so deeply within us.