KinKept

KinKeeping Matters. And Knowing You Are KinKept Matters. Remember Consciousness-raising? Author Judy Keefe wants to raise your consciousness of what she calls KinKeeping, all the ways people connect with their world. She believes in the importance of intentionally, purposefully helping to “keep the kin together.” Raised on small farms in rural South Dakota and Minnesota communities, she saw the value of the connections that came easily in such a setting. Moving around the country in later years and now as a grandmother and a mother of four adult children, she came across the word “KinKeeping” in a textbook for a college class – and instantly loved it! Keefe has broadened the term to include those we’re related to by blood, law, or by choice, and speaks of “KinGroups” as those small and large group connections we share. She also notes the connecting we do with our own selves, with animals, plants, the good earth itself, and with the Source of life here on earth. Each link we have to someone or something outside of ourselves is like a link in a colorful paperchain. It’s on this theme that Keefe has created the series of little true stories in her book, KinKept. The reader can easily visualize their own KinGroups to which they belong, and intentionally choose if they want to nurture and augment these “family ties.” KinKept demonstrates important KinKeeping principles, as well as actions that can be taken to communicate a sense of belonging and connection.