To be born, we needed:

• 2 parents
• 4 grandparents
• 8 great-grandparents
• 16 second great-grandparents
• 32 third great-grandparents
• 64 fourth great-grandparents
• 128 fifth great-grandparents
• 256 sixth great-grandparents
• 512 seventh great-grandparents
• 1,024 eighth great-grandparents
• 2,048 ninth great-grandparents

We needed 4,094 ancestors over the last 12 generations to bring us to who we are today.

How many stories, sacrifices, hopes, and dreams have contributed to your existence? How many moments of euphoria and joy? How deep the depths of despair and loss? How many chance encounters that needed to occur?

We have never met most of our ancestors, yet we carry these histories with us as we exist.

From an ancient Indian proverb: “Walk like you have 3000 ancestors behind you.”