What if?

Photo by Marcia Berg

What if you woke up one morning to learn that you had misinterpreted the meaning of life.  You wake up knowing that you existed before you were born into your present physical body.  You discover that the “you” before incarnation (called perhaps your “self” or soul or spirit being) had, with some help, planned your entire life.  Each person was pre-selected for you to meet, including the when, the how and the where, even the chanciest encounter was predetermined.  In addition, you have a new understanding that you chose your body, your family, every aspect, every circumstance and event in your life. 

What’s the first thing that comes up for you in this inquiry?  What is your immediate emotion as you consider this idea?  Is it anger?  Surprise? Regret? Happiness?  Sadness?

Does looking back on your life journey, through the lens of your having chosen it all, change anything?  What changes?  How does it change you in the present moment?  Does it change the past?  Does it change how you will move into the future?

Consider the positive and negative life events that brought new insights, big changes in direction, new opportunities and people. What did you learn from those major experiences?  Does the value of those experiences shift at all by considering that you chose them?  Are you able to distinguish the life experiences that caused you to narrow your focus, become small, diminish yourself or change your direction in what now seems a negative way?  Can you identify the experiences that opened your mind or heart, made your world bigger, allowed you to channel your creativity, your brilliance, your best?  What did these experiences and people teach you?  Are there things you would change?

While I believe in free will, I also believe each life is intended to have one or more purposes - lesson(s) that must be learned or relearned if the purpose of that life is to be successful.  I also believe that there are multiple places, in every life, where you and your advisers can choose to stop.  Illnesses, accidents, world events or numerous other choices are built-in points where you have provided a choice of departure.  Your life might have led you to become an artist, a teacher, a store or company owner, and while your choice of a profession is important, there are many other considerations. What kind of person are you?  Look back at your choices, your roads - both taken and not taken.  Are you the person you want to be?  If not, how can you change?