I had a friend who didn't believe in much of anything except her talent for accumulating wealth. She considered anything spiritual or paranormal as either delusion or scam. She surprised me one day by asking me if I knew of an honest psychic. I asked her what happened that caused her to seek a fortune-teller. She said she had had a fight with her only son and was taking him out of her will. It occurred to her if she could find out the name she has in a future reincarnation, she could leave her estate to herself.
Remembering this conversation also brought to mind a comment someone once made about people who claimed to know about their past lives. None of them ever recalled an ordinary life as a common person. They all seem to have been kings, queens, millionaires, etc. By the same token, there have been no public claims of having been a particular saint, martyr, pope or rabbi.
Who we were only matters for the lessons we bring with us. We all have either things we learned or things we didn't quite get and still need to conquer. The adage in the theater is that an actor is only as good as his last show, but that credential only lasts until the follow-up question is asked: 'What are you working on now?'
My friend never did learn her future identity. Whatever lessons await her she will have to learn without her crib notes, just as we all do. Who knows, next time around, I might be a famous writer instead of a struggling one.
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