When is it that our lives begin? Is it the instant of conception, the day of our birth, or the first memory we have of our childhood? Or maybe we count our beginnings each morning, as the day begins anew. Some people believe their life begins when their heart finds another to hold its hand for life, or when their first child enters the world. Beginnings are different for everyone, but just like endings, they are hard to pinpoint--the exact moment we step into and truly fill our own shoes. And even still, the beginnings and endings in life cannot be exactly communicated.
I remember speaking with my mother when I was young, wishing that we could take a special elixir so that we never had to die. While I also remember realizing that the world had been around much longer than I had been alive, and that I had to have been somewhere before this life, I was still consumed with the fear that I would lose her, or even myself for that matter, forever. Eventually, as I lived and experienced more, that fear subsided for me.
Many people say there is no proof of what comes before or after this earthly existence, yet I disagree. I truly believe there is so much proof right before our eyes, ranging from simple things like watching a scorching sunset paint the sky, or taking in a deep breath of fresh air, to subtle signs from our loved ones who have passed, to memories of past-lives that children and adults exhibit, to incredible sychronicities. Moments where you just feel and know at the core of your being that you are in the exact right place at the right time.
Last year, I was introduced to an incredible medium by the name of Necole Stephens who explained to me that it is not "dead people" that she
sees, but love ones--not loved in past tense--because love is forever. When you consider that this life we are living right now is really only a small piece in
time that makes up an unfathomable amount of infinite amazingness, you realize that there is SO much we cannot grasp, and that's okay.
In a way, I think we actually have it backwards. When we lose people, they return to the limitless life we forgot when we entered this body. We are the dead ones (but only if we allow ourselves to be). Our bodies experience the pain (if we choose to wallow in it.) Yet these hardships are part of life. Part of being human. Part of the experience we signed up for to grow. No one said it was going to be easy, but it can and will get easier if you truly believe that it can.
When I wrote my novel, Illusion of an Ending, I almost felt like I was communicating a message that wasn't mine, per se, though I'm not a medium. What if there was a young man who left his life early and who yearned to communicate to his mother and the world not the exact moment of "beginning" or "ending", but that the whole concept of start to finish was just an illusion?
I think it is important to realize that this life, right now, is only temporary. That when we "die" we are more alive than we can even imagine in this moment, pulled down by the weight of our body to the Earth. But that's not the point. We did not come here to suffer. We came here to remember the love and peace and joy and greatness in between the moments of pain. As we let go of our problems and just be, enjoying the short time we have here. As we realize that everything that happens to us is part of plan, which does not solely belong to God-- our own plan to remember and define our own greatness which is One with everything.
We may only get glimpse into our limitlessness. They may come and go, but one thing is for sure...so much more exists that we do not see.
"Now he wants you to use your gift of compassion to help people realize that life is far from over. remind them to enjoy the beauty of the earth and to bask in the sheer joy of being alive in the moment. Let the love that exists within you shine. Listen to what the world has to say without letting your doubts overcome you...
"He wants you to know that his life's plan was a short one. In his heart, he always knew that, even when he was a boy. But he wants to assure you that part of him will live on. The way he's touched the world will never really disappear. This is when you must set your grief aside. Understand that there is no death and no matter how much it hurts, you are alive. It is the ache, in fact, that assures it. The pain we associate with dying is actually the harsh realization that we will be okay, and that our only option is to keep going. If we recognize that our suffering won't continue forever, that life persists through physical deterioration, then there is the potential to move through the grieving process, the outcome making us stronger." -- Excerpt from Illusion of an Ending: a novel
