Birth, life and death
Human beings are like snowflakes, every one that falls on the earth is different, yet each one is perfect. It’s only fallible human judgement that sees anyone as flawed.
We are all born as part of the natural world in the time, place and as we are, for the best life experience we’ve been offered. It’s impossible to judge our differences because we don’t know what another person’s life experience is or the choices they make. Some will judge a person as being born physically disabled and see it as unfortunate, but this person may or may not have a more meaningful, happier life experience that someone we judge as being able. A person born physically blind may have a clearer vision of the world than a physically sighted person.
We may judge a person with a serious injury or illness as being unfortunate but it may be something they need, to gain a new perspective on life and start living one that is more fulfilling and happier.
Judging the quality of someone’s life based on the length of their life is also something many people do but the length of our life is the time we choose to experience it. Some of us may need 100 years; others may only need a day. It’s not possible to judge how much another person has lived their life or their life experience. We can only judge our own.
We are all children of the universe and we all have the right to be here. We come into the world through our parents not from them so our life is our own. Our biological parents are given the gift of taking care of us by nature. Some parents choose to value the gift while others can’t due to false beliefs or perceptions they have of themselves and thus of their child. Children born to these parents will often be born a certain way and live in a way that adapts to the needs of an unavailable parent so their needs are still met and that isn’t something we can judge. Unfortunately, many unknowingly choose to continue to do so when they become adults and no longer have the same needs.
We are all born with a free will and many will believe this means choosing between right and wrong, which gives them the right to judge others, but the meaning of a free will is simply being able to choose anything in life and then living with the consequences and this is always according to the beliefs and perceptions we have.
Someone, for example, might choose to rob a store and it may be because they falsely believe it’s the only way they are able to obtain what they want or need. The consequence might be getting caught and having to spend time incarcerated to protect the rights of others.
Understanding the beliefs we have, the choices we make and the consequences while not judging others is empowering because only we can change our own beliefs, which will change the choices we make and the way we feel so we can live healthier, happier lives.
The only real end to life is when we allow the spirit of who we are to die. Some people, while still physically alive, will have completely suppressed their feelings to the point of not being able to feel anything. Rather than really live, they spend their lives depending on others to physically exist. They can resurrect their feelings but it’s a process they generally avoid.
When we do die physically, our body becomes part of the earth and from it, new life grows. The spirit of who we are becomes part of that new life and continues to live on.
This is something that can be seen when we really look, particularly in the natural world. A child once put some flowers on top of the grave of her deceased, beloved pet. She believed that when the flowers started decomposing, the body of her pet buried beneath was also becoming part of the earth ready for the growth of new life and she was happy.
Another thing many people may notice is that a person with a rich soul never dies. One person that immediately comes to mind is Princess Diana of the UK who died physically but is still very much alive spiritually. In my own life, my father and grandfather both physically died many years ago and yet so often I can feel their presence and hear them in my mind saying the profound things they once said, and the memories of the things they once did are very much alive for the many people whose lives they touched.
To honour and respect the gift of life we have been given, we can each day try to find some small thing to be grateful for so life’s real value can be seen. For example, instead of becoming stressed because the house needs painting, we could be happy because we have a house that needs painting. If we have to go to hospital because we are ill, we could be happy that there is a hospital with caring staff that will take care of us. Instead of getting upset about having bills, we could be happy that someone has trusted us enough to provide a service before sending us a bill.
We can also honour and respect the life we have by finding something we can enjoy in some small way each day. It might be a walk in a park or along a beach, reading a book while snuggled up in bed, watching a movie, playing a game with our children, lunch or afternoon tea with a friend, a cup of tea, or coffee with cake. These moments provide us with the opportunity to reflect and observe nature’s wonderful systems and the value of the life we have.
There are no journeys we have to take or lessons we have to learn, the meaning of life is simply enjoying the life experience we have been given.