An Egg
September 1, 2012
It was a car accident. Nothing
particularly remarkable, but fatal
nonetheless. You left behind a wife
and two children. It was a quick
passing. The EMTs tried their best to
save you, but to no avail ...
An Egg
Strange and Unexplained / 5 minutes of reading
Estimated reading time ā 4 minutes
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but
EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail.
Youāre so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And thatās when you met me.
āWhatā¦ what happened?ā You asked. āWhere am I?ā
āYou passed,ā I said, matter-of-factly. No point mincing words.
āThere was aā¦a truck and it was skiddingā¦ā
āYup.ā I said
āIā¦ Iām gone?ā
āYup. But donāt feel bad about it. Everyone passes.ā I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me.
āWhat is this place?ā You asked. āIs this the afterlife?ā
āMore or less,ā I said.
āAre you god?ā You asked.
āYup.ā I replied. āIām God.ā
āMy kidsā¦ my wife,ā you said.
āWhat about them?ā
āWill they be alright?ā
āThat what I like to see,ā I said.
āYou just passed and your main concern is for your family.
Thatās good stuff right there.ā
You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didnāt look like a God.
Some vague authority figure. āDonāt worry,ā I said. āTheyāll be fine.
Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didnāt
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 itās any consolation, sheāll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.ā
āOh,ā you said. āSo what happens now? Do I go to the afterlife or something?ā
āNeither,ā I said. āYouāll be reincarnated.ā
You followed along as we strolled in the void. āWhere are we going?ā
āNowhere in particular,ā I said. āItās just nice to walk while we talk.ā
āSo whatās the point, then?ā You asked. āWhen I get reborn, Iāll just be a blank slate, right?
A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life wonāt matter.ā
āNot so!ā I said. āYou have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives.
You just donāt remember them right now.ā
I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. āYour 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.
Itās like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if itās hot or cold. You put a tiny part or yourself into the vessel
and when you bring it back out, youāve gained all the experiences it had.ā
āYouāve been a human for the last 34 years, so you havenāt stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness.
If we stay out here for longer, youād start remembering everything. But thereās no point doing that between each life.ā
āHow many times have I been reincarnated, then?ā
āOh, lots. Lots and lots. And into lots of different lives.ā I said. āThis time around youāll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 A.D.ā
āWait, what?ā You stammered. āYouāre sending me back in time?ā
āWell, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.ā
You pondered. āBut wait. If i get reincarnated to other places in time, could I have interacted with myself at some point?ā
āSure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own timespan you donāt even know itās happening.ā
I looked in your eye. āThe meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.ā
āYou mean mankind? You want us to mature?ā
āNo. just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature, and become a larger and greater intellectā
āJust me? What about everyone else?ā
āThere is no one else,ā I said. āIn this universe, thereās just you, and me.ā
You stared blankly at me. āBut all the people on earthā¦ā
āAll you. Different incarnations of you.ā
āWait. Iām everyone!?ā
āNow youāre getting it.ā
āIām every human who ever lived?ā
āOr whom will ever live, yes.ā
āIām Abraham Lincoln?ā
āAnd youāre John Wilkes Booth, too.ā I added.
āIām a criminal?ā you said, appalled.
āAnd youāre the victims, too.ā
āIām a leader?ā
āAnd youāre everyone who followed you.ā
You fell silent.
āEvery time you victimized someone,ā I said, āYou were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness youāve done, youāve done to yourself.
Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.ā
āWhy?ā You asked me. āWhy do all this?ā
āBecause someday, you will become like me. Because thatās what you are. Youāre one of my kind. Youāre my child.ā
āWhoa.ā you said, incredulous. āYou mean Iām a god?ā
āNo. Not yet. Youāre as a fetus. Youāre still growing. Once youāve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.ā
āSo the whole universe,ā you said. āItās justā¦ā
āAn egg of sorts.ā I answered. āNow itās time for you to move on to your next life.ā
And with that, I sent you on your way.
Credit: Andy Weir