I have a question for you… a little philosophy for the holiday season.
What if, by some fluke of reincarnation, you were born back into your life with all the knowledge and consciousness you have now? Imagine that you were to die tonight… or tomorrow. And you were born again as exactly who you were, everything the same. Everybody around you is completely unaware of anything… they are just living as they normally would… as they did before, but to them, it is the first time.You have full awareness of your previous self and recognize you are you again.
Of course, you do not have this “gift” immediately. A baby would go crazy with adult consciousness. So, let’s say you were 8 when slowly, or all of a sudden, you knew what you know (remember) today. What would you do? How would you live? What would you change? You also have the knowledge that whatever you might change, might change somebody else’s life. Remember the woman you helped at the train station… or the airport (I can’t remember, but I think she was Russian). What if a small change might mean somebody else was president of France… or America….
Would you try to stop the plane crashes of September 11?
Do you remember the movie Groundhog’s Day, with Michael Keaton and Andy Macdowell? He kept waking up to the same day, he was the only one different. There was a homeless man who dies and he tries to save him, and a kid who falls out of a tree and he catches him, he robs a bank truck, learns how to play the piano…
Now you have your whole life. You know how it will end up if you do everything the same, but not if you change something or everything.
I’ll tell you what I would do… just some of it:
I don’t think Celine Dion has anything to worry about from me… but I have often thought that if I were going to start my life over, knowing what I know today, I would sing and dance. I love to dance, but I have very little confidence in my ability.
I would learn about health much earlier. I would start on an exercise program while I was still young. I would use sunscreen on my face starting early in life. I wouldn’t eat all the crap that I did when I was a kid.
I would stop biting my nails before I ever started!
I would take voice lessons and dance lessons… and martial arts. But I wouldn’t take just one martial art… I would do a lot… some sword stuff, just different stuff.
I would learn foreign languages, not just one, but several. I would try to get dual citizenship as soon as possible. I would start saving and investing money with my allowance when I was 5. Maybe then I could travel without worrying about teaching or trying to figure out a way to pay for it.
I would go the Washington County Humane Society every day in January and February 1988, I think, and check to see if Coco is there yet. I would not miss a day of her. I would live in Florida, but alone. Get Tova… see the country. I would get my degrees, but sooner and I think I might get some more degrees… or at least education.
I would not re-marry my first husband or date my second fiancé. If I knew then what I know now, why go through it all again? I would work for Scott again, but I would not get personally involved with him. I would not get frustrated or irritated with his
Francois and me- white shirts front row.
inefficiency and constantly changing plans and never telling anybody and yada yada yada.
I would read books on philosophy, love, relationships, and communications as much as I could. I would try to be as prepared as possible for….
I would definitely go to Green Bay in March and then in July 1998. And, knowing then what I know now… I wouldn’t waste a minute of it again.
Even as a storyteller, I have dragged my feet to share one. Not because I was ashamed or embarrassed, but because I just didn’t think it was useful to do so. However, I was asked again recently to share this and as I put pen to paper, or more accurately, fingers to keyboard, I started to…
I lost my mom to cancer 10 years ago. She had been diagnosed at stage 4, colon cancer. My family and I had already changed our lifestyles before the diagnosis, but it wasn’t enough to turn around something that probably had been growing for many years. During her treatment, we threw ourselves into research. Our…
Through the years, I have looked up the difference between coaching and mentoring several times. They just seemed to be used without clear boundaries. Each time I read their definitions, I thought I understood their meanings and tried to use them correctly in a sentence. And there really is a difference between them, but that…
This may be a great reason to climb a mountain, but it is a poor reason to eat something. I was recently at a horse fair and one of my “roommates” (6 of us in a 3 horse slant load trailer), found herself eating CRAP because it was there. I must admit, I was also…
One of the lessons I have learned in my life is that sometimes we take a wrong turn, and we should adjust our course and get back on the right track. Our particular correct path. Imagine that you are driving from Chicago to New York, for whatever reason. Maybe you couldn’t get a plane ticket…
A couple months ago I was in email conversation with a group of Fell Pony enthusiasts about a topic having to do with the natural health of our ponies. I had asked a pretty simple question regarding breeding for good feet and therefore avoiding some well-known foot problems in the future. While I was met…
worrying about teaching or trying to figure out a way to pay for it.
worrying about teaching or trying to figure out a way to pay for it.
