This is the fourth in a six-part article. Parts 5-6 will be posted in future months. Be sure to watch for them! Catch up by reading part 1, part 2 and part 3
Many Times
Living a life on Earth is all-consuming. Our lives are extremely important to us. This is by design. At times, however, it can be helpful to remind ourselves that we are wise, eternal beings who are freely choosing to express in human form. You are a soul with a physical body, not the other way around. In fact, as a soul, you have projected into Earth before.
You have been and still are involved in the creation of Earth, and you have lived as a human being many times. Imagine restoring a beautiful automobile. It is a labor of love, and when it is complete, you take it out on a wonderful drive. But you don’t just drive it once and then put it aside. You want to drive it to many places near and far simply to enjoy and share your beautiful creation.
You are not, right now, the same person you were in previous lives, but there can be a sense of continuity in your history, a sense of connection with your past. The same is true for those around you. In that sense, it is accurate to believe that many of the people we know in this lifetime we have known before. It is safe to assume that, for those who are now our mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, friend, teacher, even those we find challenging, we were once their mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, friend, teacher, and even antagonist.
We may occasionally feel an unexplained familiarity with, closeness to, or distance from, someone, but for good reason we normally do not have memories of past relationships. It would be confusing in the present to have clear memories of the past. Someone who is now very dear to us may previously have been extremely challenging. And someone we might try to avoid now may once have been the most important person imaginable to us.
We have all lived in many times and cultures. We have all had deeply loving and also difficult lifetimes. We have all been both kind and mean. We must be careful if we are tempted to assign blame or credit for the past on those who are living now. If, in the past, a culture, gender, race, or a religious, socioeconomic, or political group was abusive to another group, it would not be proper for the current members of the previously-abused group to blame the past injustice on the current members of the previously-abusive group. It is entirely possible that current members of one group were previously members of the other group. It is safe to assume that we have all been the abused and the abuser, the helped and the helper, that we have all contributed to the situations in which we currently find ourselves.
These can be challenging ideas – just understand that the past is past and that many details about the past are not knowable, or even important. The past does not dictate the present. Nothing that we or others have done has damaged who we are. The current need is to be gentle with ourselves and helpful to those around us.
Every Earth lifetime is an enriching experience. We will continue to incarnate for as long as we wish to do so. We are not forced to return to Earth to repair or pay for past wrong deeds. The cycle of birth and death on Earth is not something to be escaped from. Our intention in coming here is not to stop coming here as quickly as possible. Time-space is not of lesser value than eternal awareness. Human life provides a unique opportunity to explore, grow, and enjoy. As souls, we are enriched. God is enriched. Nothing is ever stagnant. The perfection of God is always expanding.
Finding Purpose
How should we spend our time here? Be gentle with yourself and kind to others, then do whatever you want to do. Of course, there will always be the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, although we are free to ignore those things if we are willing to face the consequences. We are free to do or not do anything, and when the results of our choices arrive, we will make more choices. Earth-life is not about finding our one perfect activity, as if not finding it would make our life a mistake.
If we are honest and caring to the best of our ability, that is a great achievement. Let your interests and talents be your guide. Clarify what you desire, evaluate your motives, and then create a step-by-step plan for achievement, remembering that the evaluating and the doing are as important as the achieving. Engage each day with enthusiasm. Recognize the value in everything you do. Care, and do things well.
The challenge is that things do not always go smoothly. Sometimes, outside circumstances can make things difficult, and sometimes our own internal worries and fears can be strong. Recognizing and healing our fears is an important part of life. Do not be afraid to listen to the voice of your heart and mind. Your fears cannot harm you, and with gentle attention, you can heal them.
Fear is any long-held feeling or belief that badness exists or will exist in ourselves, in others, or in life. It interferes with our internal balance. In obvious and subtle ways fear can influence how we think and behave. Outer circumstances might be challenging, but if we pay attention to our reactions to them, we will learn much about ourselves.
Whenever we are unduly critical or harsh toward ourselves or others, it is due to an underlying fear of some kind. If we see someone who looks or acts in a way that makes us overly judgmental of them, notice that reaction. We are not being harmed by them. Practice being accepting. Oftentimes, people are the way they are partly because of how they were raised or how they have been treated.
Certainly, we all make our own choices in every moment, but we haven’t all been given the same positive influences and opportunities. We don’t know the internal and external struggles that others face. It takes courage to face our challenges. It takes trust in society’s willingness to support us as we learn and grow. Let us live up to that trust. Of course, if someone is truly being mean, dishonest, or hurtful, then we might choose to speak up with wise counsel or, if necessary, call for the intervention of those more qualified.
When you are feeling judgmental of, or irritated with, someone, take a step back and muster patience and understanding. Direct compassion toward them and say to yourself, “I love you. I support you. I bless you.” Feel this softening of your heart. It will benefit both of you, especially you.
Here is a simple exercise: A few times each day, evaluate your behavior over the past hour or two. If you could go back and relive that time, would you do anything differently? Could you have been more kind, patient, or encouraging? If things went well, did you let yourself really feel happy and confident? Did you appreciate your creativity? If things did not go well, can you see a way in which you could have handled the situation better? If someone helped you, did you thank them and express sincere appreciation? Did you compliment someone for something nice you noticed about them? Did you make someone smile? Thinking about how we might do something better the second time can help us learn to do it better the first time.
This is the end of Part 4eart. If you wish, you may read the entire article as a free download at LifeInTimeSpace.com
