To have just one life seems an awful waste of resources, and if our souls are eternal, wouldn’t that make heaven an awfully crowded space?  No one thinks of the New York subway at rush hour traffic on the other side of the pearly gates.

My husband and I have diverse interests, but I don’t think I could list all of our hobbies or to-do-wish-list on my fingers and toes.  Reincarnation offers me the solace that even if I don’t get to do something in this life, then I’ve either already done it in the past and enjoyed it so much I wanted to do it again, or I will get another chance down the road.

But that doesn’t mean I can or should live this life with reckless abandon or numbing apathy.  After all, I do want to move forward or higher in the next life.  To do so, my humble take is that I need to live as fully in compassion and wholeness as possible.  What does this mean?  I need to live balanced, engaged, passionately, compassionately, and honestly.  I need to take some of the contemplative practices to heart, listen to the wisdom gained and live with a happy heart, doing that which brings joy to myself and good to others.  Can life be so simple?  Of course, but we always have the option to screw it up, plug in our own selfish desires, put others down and not listen to our true heart of hearts.

It’s simple, but not easy.  Even if we know what we might be called to do in this one life, it might only complicate things.  Things might be going one direction, and we receive a detour.  Why? we might ask.  Maybe we’re ready for something new.  Maybe we’ve received the wisdom we need to make it on the new path.

Just because this is one life doesn’t mean we’ll always just be doing one thing.  I think most any mother will tell you she is definitely a Mother, probably a Wife, too, but she could be called something else as well.  Director.  Artist.  Midwife.  Philanthropist.  Social Justice Worker.  CEO.  Teacher.  Priest.  Nurse.  The list inevitably goes on and on.

What do you choose in this one life?  Will you leave a leagacy behind you?  The way I see it, if we leave a legacy of love, especially with our children, then we have lived this life well.