Play it again, Sam

With thanks to my friend Jo, whose blog post helped me articulate the following.

What is an old soul? If you ask me, all of our souls are ancient. We come from the stars, from the Big Bang, maybe from before that. Young souls? I don't believe there's anything new under the sun.

Some of us can remember better than others. Maybe I should have put the word "remember" in quotes, because it isn't always a conscious memory. Sometimes there is simply a resonance of soul history that pervades the individual stories each person carries around. Some of the oldest souls around (I mean the folks whose spiritual lineage is palpable) are the ones who say Be here now. Live in the moment; this moment, right now. Even as they make these statements, there is the reverb of ancient wisdom coming through. It's kind of ironic, isn't it?

My spirit guides tell me I'm close to finishing a long set of lifetimes during which I've been learning about service. I've been a maid, cook, nurse, gardener, and servant so many times, you would not believe it. Apparently, service was a tough pill to swallow for my soul (if indeed souls can swallow, or, for that matter, be too proud to serve others). I'm learning this lesson however, and am perhaps not going to have to come back again in this capacity: we shall see. When my guides intimate that I might be able to complete this set of lifetimes at the end of my current life, it's almost as if they're winking and smiling at me. Almost.

I remember a long set of lifetimes before this set, one in which I was a warrior. I was never a stellar example in that set of lives - just a regular foot soldier, and not very good even at that. I remember the Ice Age, (or so I think I do), when everyone was a shaman, hunter, warrior and healer - everyone. There was no separating ourselves from mother earth and father sky back then. Modern human consciousness was still developing. All of those lives were nearly identical.

One of my great teachers used to say that if you want to remember past lives, then, at the moment of death, be sure to leave your body through the crown chakra. Clearly I have done this over and over again.

All this leads me to understand why I feel old, always have felt old. I started calling myself "old" at age thirty-five. Now that seems so funny, but in light of yesterday's reflections and thoughts, I realize I've been eager to grow old all my life. No wonder I was aloof in high school and such a wreck as a younger adult! I was SO uncomfortable in my youthful body.

Even now, at age 58, I am "young." I don't have a lot of wrinkles, gravity hasn't taken control of certain parts of my body yet, and I have lots of energy. One trophy of old age I can claim is my gray hair. I love it so much! I can relate to my gray hair.

Please understand, I am not complaining, no way! I'm VERY grateful to be so healthy and hearty, and too I know I'm silly to keep wishing for old age. It's ridiculous, but you see, I remember, I really do. Hence my infatuation with being old.

OK, 'nuff said about this one! The sun is FINALLY shining in DC this morning. I'm going to take a big walk this morning, oh yeah. I'm outta here. Shalom.