Friday, April 11, 2014
Happy Birthday, Fred & Clara!
April 11th, 2014
Hello, Everyone,
Today marks the day that a man called "Frederick" was born. Tomorrow marks the day that a woman named "Clara" was born. "Fred" was born in 1908 - and so was Clara; but Fred passed on in 1980 whereas Clara passed on in 2004. Fred was my friend, Nancy's, father; and Clara was my mother.
I think it is good to keep various birthdates of loved ones in mind because it should remind us of ourselves - and when celebrating the birthday of someone who has passed, we are also noting - in a way - that we will die too - just as our loved ones did in the past.
But is Fred really dead? Is Clara really dead? I don't think so. I think that Fred is simply experiencing another adventure and so is Clara. It may well be that Fred & Clara are father and daughter - or mother and son - or in someway related in their next experience. It may be so.
And maybe too, though Fred died first in a last life - long before Clara would die - Fred may have waited for Clara to pass so that the two of them could be reborn as twins - or at least at the same time - whether their parents are the same or not.
In truth, none of us know about this wonderful thing called life. When I was a kid, I was taught that God "created" me - and thus, I suppose "He" created Fred and Clara too. I was also taught that I was given a choice to do either good or bad; and I suppose that Clara and Fred were offered the same choice. I was taught that the "Creator God" who gave me life and choice would also judge me for the choices that I would make in life.
It might be so that my "Creator God" both "created" me and will "judge" me, but I don't think so now. Why not? Because the "evidence of process" tells me otherwise. The evidence of reality tells me that Fred assumed some life in a body that had come from his mother and father - not God. The evidence of reality tells me that Clara assumed some life in a body that had come from her mother and father - not God. Where is there a "Creator God" in all of that?
If, then, it is not likely that Fred or Clara assumed bodies "created" by a "Creator God," then it is just as unlikely that Fred or Clara experienced a "Judgmental God" when they passed. Judgment of persons has been tied in the past to Creation of persons. If, in fact, persons are not "created," then neither is it likely they can be "judged" - by a Creator/Judgmental God, of course.
So, what am I saying? I am saying that it is time to lay all that "judgment" nonsense aside and let Fred and Clara live again as they probably are. It is time to recognize that the likelihood of Judgment by God - or a Jesus or a Mohammed or a Moses or a whomever - is about as likely as spitting in an ocean can cause a tsunami. It is totally unlikely that either Fred or Clara were confronted with a judgment by another when they died; but it is very likely that both Fred and Clara - if they exist as souls at all - are simply going forward to be what they were in a last life.
Tonight, my dear friend, Nancy, and I will eat a piece of Red Velvet Cake that I bought an hour or so ago from the local Wal-Mart. We will celebrate her father, Fred, who has long since passed into whatever wonderful experience that might have awaited a gentle man - as was Fred in his last life. And tomorrow, Nancy and I will eat of that same Red Velvet Cake and celebrate my mother, Clara, who has long since passed into whatever wonderful experience that might have awaited a gentle lady - as was Clara in her last life.
Life goes on. It does not stop. Whatever it is, it is likely it will go on. Why should I spend anytime fretting about death or judgment after death when the evidence of life tells me that it is unlikely either Creation or Judgment happens. Fred did not come into life as a product of "creation" - and neither did Clara. But Fred and Clara - as souls - are still going. That I Believe!
That is not to "deny God" - or that there is God. It is only to take our individual existences away from a "Creator God". So God does not likely "create". So what? It is obvious that we all exist. So why not celebrate our existence - and existences? Does it matter that God creates us - or simply Exists so that all can be? By claiming that my body came from Mom and Dad does not deny God. It only expresses that my body was not "created" by God; and if I have a soul - and I do believe I do - then it is likely that my soul was not "created" either - but came from another soul or souls who made it happen.
So, Here's to Fred - born on April 11th, 1908 - and here's to Clara - born one day later, April 12th, 1908. Here's to remembering Nancy's father and here's to remembering My mother - and here's to celebrating their various deaths - in 1980 at the age of 72 for Fred and in 2004 at the age of 96 for Clara. Here's to loving them both - and Here's to Knowing that as Fred and Clara are - and not just were - so are we all. By celebrating Fred and Clara, we are really only "celebrating ourselves". And isn't it wonderful? I think so. Don't you?
Gently,
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming