More Musings on Reincarnation

 "We all change when you think about it. We're all different all through our lives. And that's okay. That's good. You've got to keep moving. As long as you remember all the people that you used to be." - The 11th Doctor, Doctor Who "The Time of the Doctor"

I've been reflecting again on reincarnation. I realize that many folks will take objection to even its mention, but I think there are some important things to take from it even if you don't accept a literal reincarnation of the soul from one body to another.

     One of the big red flags I think most folks get when listening to or watching an interview with someone who claims to be reincarnated is that their whole identity seems to become wrapped up in it. It's as if the past incarnation of their soul suddenly becomes the only personality or person which matters to them, and who they were up until the point they learned of their past life no longer makes a difference to them. This hyperfocus and preoccupation becomes an unhealthy thing psychologically.

     Why is this? Because while this may be who the person "was," it's not who they "are" right now in the present moment. A person may have been a 5th century blacksmith in France in a past life, for example, but in this life, from the time they were born up until they learned of that past life, they accrued other experiences, language, history, relationships, and so on. They may or may not even be the same gender. It may have been the same soul as the French blacksmith, but it is not the same person, nor should it be. That French blacksmith might, in some way, have contributed to who the person is now, but they are still a different person altogether, and they should be. The French blacksmith did not know what the new person knows, did not see what the new person sees, and did not experience what the new person experienced.

     The same is true of a person just within the one life, the one incarnation, they might have. The person I was at 5 years old was very different from who I am at 47 years old. The same is true of the person I was at 20 years old. I may have had the same name, the same parents, and so on, but I can rightfully say that the person I was at 20 and the person I am now at 47 are two completely different men. We think differently, we have different goals, different relationships, and who I am at 47 has had many, many more experiences, learning, and growing which would shock and probably horrify who I was at 20. Given that every cell in the human body is replaced every seven years, I don't even technically have the same body I did at 20 years old, and with time, age, and experiences, even my DNA has probably somewhat changed.

     Doctor Who, as a fictional character, literally changes into a different person each time he regenerates even as he retains the memories of each past regeneration. But the point the 11th Doctor makes is a good one. We all change and become different people than we used to be over time. No one of us is ever the same person twice from moment to moment, even if each change is gradual or miniscule. And as he said, that's good. You have to keep moving forward. It does no good to hold on to who you used to be, and resist changing and growing. It's a fight against both nature and time which you will lose. Where the creation is concerned, that which does not change, dies, or was never alive to begin with. Even the rocks change as they're exposed to the elements over time. Coal changes to diamond given time, heat, and pressure.

     Whether a person has been literally reincarnated or not, it's never a good or healthy thing to try and return to the person you used to be. The 20 year old cannot return to being 5, neither the 40 year old to 20.

     As the Doctor said, "You have to keep moving forward, as long as you remember all the people you used to be." Knowing who we were and where we've been helps us understand those components of ourselves in a richer and more full picture as long as we recognize that we are no longer those people, and cannot hold on to them. The goal of life with respect to this is growth, understanding, maturity, and the wisdom which comes from those experiences the soul has had whether it fully remembers them or not.

     While who we used to be in the past must be remembered and learned from, they must also be let go of to make way for who we are right now in the present, and who we will be in the future.