The bugle has sounded...

by Tony DeCarvalho

"In a previous life, I was a serf."

"200 years ago, I was aboard a ship traversing the Atlantic, heading towards Virginia."

"I saw Genghis Khan."

People miss the point. There is no straight conversion from a previous life into the next. Reincarnation simply means that a piece of your soul once dwelled in another living being -- and you may have pieces from many different souls within you now.

Our lives are unique now. When we die, we lose that individuality, and leave behind our legacy in this physical reality. We do not get to relive with the same spirit. Our spirit joins with all other souls, and adds or detracts from the whole.

This all may seem a little cryptic -- allow me to illustrate by using another "re" word -- recycling.

When we recycle an old jumbo jet, the parts are converted to other consumer uses, like aluminum cans.

Let me ask you -- what difference does it make to the can if it was once a mighty airliner when held by a 14 year old with the ability to crush that aluminum with his bare hands? Will the previous journey make the can stronger ... tougher to crush?

The can was once part of a plane, but no longer. It is now a separate, new, different incarnation of the same material. Sure, being the plane helped the create the can ... but does it help the can avoid being recycled again?

If we are to appreciate our lives, we cannot worry about where we lived in previous lives, or where we might end up in future timelines. We are an amalgamation of previous experiences with a mandate to forge ahead, breaking new ground all the while.

Why worry about previous lives? Wouldn't it be better to concentrate on being the best we can be in this life?

Let future selves worry about themselves ... and let the past live with itself. Focus on the moment, and treat your life with reverence and respect. Appreciate life as the gift it truly is.