zoey101

A post I found while scrolling through Reddit. It is really comforting, to me. Is this related to self-actualizing? @Leo Gura: Would love your thoughts, if you get a free second. (Sorry if this has already been posted! and also for the length!) Enjoy! [Short Story] The Egg - By Andy Weir You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me. And that’s when you met me. “What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?” “You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words. “There was a… a truck and it was skidding…” “Yup,” I said. “I… I died?” “Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said. You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?” “More or less,” I said. “Are you god?” You asked. “Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.” “My kids… my wife,” you said. “What about them?” “Will they be all right?” “That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.” You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty. “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t 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 it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.” “Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?” “Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.” “Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,” “All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.” You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?” “Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.” “So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.” “Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.” I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your 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. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had. “You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.” “How many times have I been reincarnated, then?” “Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.” “Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?” “Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.” “Where you come from?” You said. “Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.” “Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.” “Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.” “So what’s the point of it all?” “Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?” “Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted. I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.” “You mean mankind? You want us to mature?” “No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.” “Just me? What about everyone else?” “There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.” You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…” “All you. Different incarnations of you.” “Wait. I’m everyone!?” “Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back. “I’m every human being who ever lived?” “Or who will ever live, yes.” “I’m Abraham Lincoln?” “And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added. “I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled. “And you’re the millions he killed.” “I’m Jesus?” “And you’re everyone who followed him.” You fell silent. “Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.” You thought for a long time. “Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?” “Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.” “Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?” “No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.” “So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…” “An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.” And I sent you on your way.

This discussion is really cool you guys I was actually watching a silly show, "BoJack Horseman", and they did a pretty HEAVY episode about Dementia, and it kind of made me think of memories in a pretty different way. The one with dementia was just a living box of memories, I guess you could say. She was no longer "herself" but a moving projection of the past, physically in the now, but now living in it. So when I think of memories in regards to me, someone without dementia, I am now trying to think of it as a movie projection. You can refer back to it anytime. You can learn from it, or just enjoy "the show", but the movie itself has no bearing on you and the now. Just like any other movie out there. You will have emotional reactions and thoughts about it, but the movie itself WON'T have any affect on your life unless YOU make it that way. If any of that makes sense.

I do enjoy my current job. I have excitement in thinking about where I could go with this company. Once we are able to catch up from my accident, I was hoping to start buying recording equipment

Sometimes I think I'm pretty good. I can do a lot of different styles. Classical Opra, pop, musical theater, r&b. I like it all.

@Key Elements I suppose no limitations, I'd love to sing. But that's a pretty cliche isn't it?

Entry #5 Loved this. Felt some relief after watching. We are just a complex mixture of good and bad, it's part of being human. I liked that. So much was covered in this, I will definitely have to watch this a few times to really soak it in.

@Feel Good oh, it's still pretty impressive thank you

Wooooahhh ???

Holy cow!!! That is some serious dedication! Thank you!!! ???

Yeah that was very beautifully said, thank you!

Dam , what can you say after that? lol Very well put! I'd like to believe I am more than just a baby maker, personally lol

Gravity isn't a thing, it is an abstract idea. It is just the name we gave to an "event". Something like that?

Mine? lol Were you a fan of the show?

Wow! That's crazy lol I seriously just finished this video before I read this! Leo had me totally pegged lol Thank you. I am going to stop sayin "I'll try" right now! I WILL get this done!

I guess that makes sense. I personally wouldn't find myself addicted. Just thought it would be a fun way to connect since things tend to be pretty serious on here all the time. We'd get to see a fun and laid back side to some of the people on here.

Me too This guy really covers a lot in such a short story and with such simple dialog.

it's okay lol

You are more than welcome to join me I don't know what I'm doing, but I am trying to have fun with it. I am very good at encouraging others too

Sounds like a great question for @Leo Gura

Thank you. You really have the best analogies that makes perfect sense. I am feeling really pumped today. @Feel Good I was FINALLY able to sit down with my husband and talk to him. I did my best to assert myself and started by telling him that I really need him to listen because this is very important to me. I explained what I have been doing and looking into, and he didn't get angry. He said he didn't understand it so I told him "I don't need you to understand it, I just need to be able to feel like you are supporting me 100%. please" he said he was sorry for being a dick the past week and will try to work on it. @Leo Gura I was able to watch this and I just wanted to thank you for it! I tried out the excessive with an old picture of me from a less desirable time in my life and just kept repeating "I love and accept you just the way you are", just like you suggested, and noticed the hesitation immediately. I kept saying it and found myself in tears by the 5th or 6th time I said it. It was a very weird feeling, just like you said it would be lol but I'm very glad I did it. I felt very warm-hearted and light afterwards. I am going to try and do this AT LEAST once a day and every time I start to get hard on myself. THANK YOU!!!

"god" describes that. Once he lives every life throughout time, he will be "matured" and can become just like his "father". I was raised Christian so this was pretty cool to read thank you. It's an interesting theory

That's kind of my goal as well there are aspects of my "old self" that I want back.