Life is a Choice

If you are alive, you are on a spiritual pathway. If you are dead, you are on a spiritual pathway...given you haven’t merged with the universe. Existence itself is a spiritual pathway. Every living thing on earth is a spirit occupying a biological life form. Man’s Spiritual Pathway is the last set of steps in the stairway to spiritual perfection; and there is never a dull moment. Most people revere Mankind’s existence as superior, exalted, and profound; but I am not “most people”, and I think we are a mess…a beautiful mess.

How many times do I have to forget to register my car and pay a fine before I remember to register it on time? So far there is no answer, because I have never registered my car on time. When will I learn to speak my mind without worrying what others may think or feel? I am slowly making progress with that; and in time, I will be braver. Why did I have to go through more than one painful, failed long term relationship? Because I did, that’s simply what it took to make me a more complete person.

How many times do I have to fuck this up? How many times do I have to reincarnate until I get it, until I’m “perfect”? As many times as it takes, my friends! Honestly, I couldn't be more elated to be here, living this life, learning what I’m learning, and making messes.  You’re not having fun unless you’re making a mess. There is incredible joy in being human-family, friends, food, coffee, cats, drama, peace, naps, sorrow, pain, and happiness.

What a ride.

Life is a series of mistakes, mishaps, bad choices, good choices, and karma. We learn from the messes we make, we clean up, and we ascend to a greater version of ourselves.

Then we die, and come back for another ride.

There is never a dull moment on our spiritual pathway. Even during the dullest of moments, we are still spirits driving a meat-coated skeleton, on a giant magma filled rock that is spinning in a circle at 1,000 miles per hour, while simultaneously orbiting the sun at 67,000 miles per hour. Nothing about that is dull.

Our own spiritual path is much like that of the earth’s. We are constantly moving, changing, and evolving. We have personal seasons within our lives, we have dark and light times, and we are bound by the laws of science. Although our pathways are not perfectly cyclical, like the earth’s pathway, we are always in the “right” place at the “right” time. However, unlike earth’s pathway, we have a choice in our own.  Neither we, or the earth chooses the speed at which she travels, nor can we choose where she travels to.

We are our own responsibility.

We chose this life, our body, our family, this time, and this town. From Spirit Side, we had an eagle’s eye view; and we could see how to fit into this existence, so we could learn a new lesson...or relearn an old one. We collaborated with our Spirit buddies, located a good time and place, and we slipped back into a meat-coated skeleton on a giant magma filled spinning rock. Our lives are not an obligate piece of a bigger picture, our lives are not an accident, and we were not at the mercy of a “higher power” when we arrived.  We chose to live this life, we chose to live all of our lives, and we are our own responsibility.  

It seems our inherent and sole responsibility for ourselves is an emotionally, and conceptually difficult truth to grasp.  As long a humans have been documented, humans have been giving the responsibility for themselves away. The concepts of fate, a controlling deity, and destiny are ingrained in human culture; and many of our habits, traditions, and mind-sets revolve around a belief that we are not responsible for our own lives, when our lives are the only thing we are responsible for.

“Here I go making sacrifices to the gods, because they are responsible for my life, and if I give them a real nice goat...they’ll make my life beautiful.”

“It is the King’s fault I have no money, it is up to him whether or not I am successful, because as King, he is responsible for my life…”

“Today I’m going to say a prayer, and light a candle, so God will give me a job. God is responsible for my life.”

“My parents totally screwed up my life...after all, they are totally responsible for it. It's not like I chose to be born.”

“Jesus! Take the wheel!”

Jesus: “I highly recommend you put your hands back on the wheel, or you will crash.”

Of course, humans are social animals for a reason, we all need help; and Spirit Side is always present to offer us guidance and support. However, there is only one person who exists to be responsible for your life, complete you, or make you happy.

YOU.

Many people are baffled, terrified, or even offended by hearing they are solely responsible for their life, their feelings, and their thoughts. For me, knowing I am responsible for my own pathway is liberating. 

Your Spiritual Pathway is yours alone. Our pathways cross with those of others, and people certainly impact one another’s lives; but no matter how large the impact someone else makes on how we travel our pathway, how we travel it is still up to us.  In the meat-coated skeletons we are driving, there is only one steering wheel, and one driver. We may choose to take good advice, and change directions. We may be terribly wronged or hurt; but choose to be happy anyway. We may completely miss the mark this life, and not learn anything we planned to; but that’s okay, we can always get back in line, and go on this ride again. It is up to our own personal discretion how often, how many times, and how long we stay on this ride.  Everyone is in charge of judging their own progress; and our consequences are of our own devices, not at the hand of a “higher power”.

Your Spiritual Pathway is exactly what you want it to be.