GratitudeLog

Doris Fonseca
You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that's when you met me.

"What . . .what happened?" You asked. "Where am I?"

"You died," I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

"There was a. . . a truck and it was skidding . . ."

"Yup," I said.

"I. . . I died?"

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. "What is this place?" You asked. "Is this the afterlife?"

"More or less," I said.

"Are you God?" You asked.

"Yup," I replied. "I'm God."

"Mid kids. . .my wife," you said.

"Will they be alright?"

"You just died and your main concern is for your family. That's good stuff right there," I said.

You looked at me with fascination.

"Don't worry," I said. "They'll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn't have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If its any consolation, she'll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.

"Oh," you said. "So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?"

"Neither, I said. "You'll be reincarnated."

"Ah," you said.

"Walk with me," I said.

You followed along as we strode through the void. "Where are we going?"

"Nowhere in particular," I said. "It's just nice to walk while we talk."

"So what is the point, then?" You asked. "When I get reborn, I'll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So, all my experiences and everything I did in this life won't matter."

"Not so!" I said. "You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don't remember them right now."

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. "Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It is like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it is hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you've gained all the experiences it had.

"You've been in human form for the last 48 years, so you haven't stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you'd start remembering everything. But there's no point to doing that between each life."

"How many times have I been reincarnated, then?"

"Oh, lots!. And in lots of different lives." I said. "This time around, you'll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD."

"Wait, what?" You stammered. "You're sending me back in time?"

"Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe."

"But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point."

"Sure. It happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don't even know its happening."

"So, what's the point of it all?"

"The meaning of life, the reason this whole universe was made, is for you to mature."

"You mean mankind? For mankind to mature?"

"No, just you. This whole universe is for you. With each new life, you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intelligence."

"Just me? What about everyone else?" you asked.

There is no one else," I said. "In this universe, its just you."

You stared blankly at me. "But all the people on earth. . ."

"All you. Different incarnations of you."

"Wait. I'm everyone?"

"Now you're getting it," I said.

"I'm every human being who ever lived?"

"Or who will ever live, yes." I said.

"I'm Abraham Lincoln?"

"And you're John Wilkes Booth, too," I added.

"I'm Hitler" You asked, appalled.

"And you're the millions he killed."

"I'm Jesus?"

"And you're everyone who followed him."

You fell silent.

"Every time you victimized someone," I said, "you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you."

You thought for a long time.

"Why?" You asked me. "Why all this?"

"Because someday, you will become like me. Because that's what you are. You're one of my kind. You're my child."

"Whoa," you said, incredulous. "You mean I'm a god?"

"You're a fetus. You're still growing. Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to finally be born."

"So, the whole universe, " you said, "it's just. . ."

"An egg." I answered. "Now its time for you to move on to your next life."

And I sent you on your way.

-The End (Author Unknown)