Life (noun): A specific phase of earthly existence.
They say that before we were born, God showed us our life and then asked if we choose to be born in this life, at this specific time, or stay the same. They say that those who chose to be born did so because they saw something worth leaving for and I couldn’t help but wonder what this thing might be!
Is it love? Is it experiencing our senses? The warmth of holding hands, the taste of ice cream, or a hug. Maybe seeing fireflies for the first time on a summer night or staring at a constellation up above. Maybe it is listening to the sound of the waves or the laughter of those we love.
Maybe the very thing that was worth witnessing was our transformation in this life. Maybe that was the wonderful thing that made us believe that visiting earth would be a worthwhile trip. Maybe the delicious taste is our sweetness. The warmth is our kindness. Maybe the sound of the waves is an echo of the waves of our own transformation coming and reaching toward us from a distance.
Maybe constellations are the beauty marks and freckles on our bodies. Even the scars. Maybe what is worthy of witnessing is how we connect the dots on the road to understanding our own vastness. Of understanding belonging; to ourselves and each other. To experience a fresh perspective, or to be reminded of what we lost and forgotten.
” I was born to be born, to remember the steps of all who approach, of what pounds at my chest like a trembling new heart.”
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)
solace in a word 