A Popular Post from Reddit, What do you think?

[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.

[Dogsbestfriend]

I enjoy it, and it's weird that I had this story as an idea myself that came to me after a meditation session - only difference was I wouldn't be everyone, there would be various people 'maturing'. Funny coincidence. 

[zoey101]

5 minutes ago, Dogsbestfriend said:

I enjoy it, and it's weird that I had this story as an idea myself that came to me after a meditation session - only difference was I wouldn't be everyone, there would be various people 'maturing'. Funny coincidence. 

I never thought of it like this, personally. But this kind of helps me understand what everyone is talking about when they say "we are all one"  We literally are one, according to this story, because everyone is me, I am everyone  

[starsofclay]

26 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

I never thought of it like this, personally. But this kind of helps me understand what everyone is talking about when they say "we are all one"  We literally are one, according to this story, because everyone is me, I am everyone  

Use it to open your mind to the possibility, but don't take the story too seriously. But you're right, stories like this are good for expanding your ability to think differently. 

[zoey101]

46 minutes ago, starsofclay said:

Use it to open your mind to the possibility, but don't take the story too seriously. But you're right, stories like this are good for expanding your ability to think differently. 

Thank you. I agree, it's a great story to help expand your thinking it's a comforting story as well, at least to me.

[Nahm]

1 hour ago, zoey101 said:

We literally are one, according to this story, because everyone is me, I am everyone

??

[Mafortu]

I loved it, but I dont get the part about "you will be a Chinese girl next". Wouldn't he simply be everything? One with god? Instead of one-at-the-time?

[Prabhaker]

6 hours ago, zoey101 said:

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

Jesus says, the day of judgement is coming near and, “There is only one life. Once lost, lost for ever.” That’s why Jesus never used the Indian device of reincarnation. All the three religions born in the west , Jews, Mohammedans, Christians they have never used the Indian device. 

Jesus knew perfectly well about reincarnation. There are indirect hints spread all over the Gospels. Jesus says, “I am before Abraham ever was.” And he says, “I will be coming back.”

Moses and Jesus saw what happened to India through the theory of reincarnation. Because of the theory of reincarnation, India became very lethargic, there is no hurry. India has no time sense, not even now. How can you have time sense when eternity is available? When there are so many lives, why be in such a hurry? One can go on slowly, one is bound to reach some day or other.

They decided that it was better to tell people, “There is only one life, this is the last chance, the first and the last, if you miss it, you miss forever.” This is a device to create intense longing, to create such intensity in people that they can be transformed easily.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Prabhaker

[zoey101]

11 hours ago, Mafortu said:

I loved it, but I dont get the part about "you will be a Chinese girl next". Wouldn't he simply be everything? One with god? Instead of one-at-the-time?

"god" describes that. Once he lives every life throughout time, he will be "matured" and can become just like his "father".

9 hours ago, Prabhaker said:

Jesus says, the day of judgement is coming near and, “There is only one life. Once lost, lost for ever.” That’s why Jesus never used the Indian device of reincarnation. All the three religions born in the west , Jews, Mohammedans, Christians they have never used the Indian device. 

Jesus knew perfectly well about reincarnation. There are indirect hints spread all over the Gospels. Jesus says, “I am before Abraham ever was.” And he says, “I will be coming back.”

Moses and Jesus saw what happened to India through the theory of reincarnation. Because of the theory of reincarnation, India became very lethargic, there is no hurry. India has no time sense, not even now. How can you have time sense when eternity is available? When there are so many lives, why be in such a hurry? One can go on slowly, one is bound to reach some day or other.

They decided that it was better to tell people, “There is only one life, this is the last chance, the first and the last, if you miss it, you miss forever.” This is a device to create intense longing, to create such intensity in people that they can be transformed easily.

I was raised Christian so this was pretty cool to read  thank you. It's an interesting theory

[John Iverson]

12 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

"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 theo

[John Iverson]

Don't mind that,. It is a mistake.. ?? sorry

[zoey101]

2 minutes ago, John Iverson said:

Don't mind that,. It is a mistake.. ?? sorry

it's okay lol

[tsuki]

@zoey101 Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

I really liked the analogy with the glass of water. 
It reminds me of Jung's collective unconscious.

[zoey101]

Just now, tsuki said:

@zoey101 Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

I really liked the analogy with the glass of water. 
It reminds me of Jung's collective unconscious.

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

[WelcometoReality]

On 2018-08-02 at 10:53 PM, zoey101 said:

I never thought of it like this, personally. But this kind of helps me understand what everyone is talking about when they say "we are all one"  We literally are one, according to this story, because everyone is me, I am everyone  

Except there is no "we". ?

[zoey101]

8 hours ago, WelcometoReality said:

Except there is no "we". ?

Wooooahhh ???

[WelcometoReality]

3 hours ago, zoey101 said:

Wooooahhh ???

 

[Max_V]

Man, this touched me. 

Thank you for posting!

[zoey101]

22 hours ago, Max_V said:

Man, this touched me. 

Thank you for posting!

[BuddhaTree]

Fine story, but slightly new-agey and shallow. It seems to encompass moralism and duality. Not my cup of tea, personally, but thanks for sharing.