Here we are, it’s October again. The veil between this world and the next is thinning. The world around us is slowly dying, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. If you’re in the Southern, Spring is starting to sprout new life.
The fact that depending on where you are on the planet, you are either seeing death or rebirth, illustrates perfectly the Cycle of Life, and the Turning of the Wheel.
In our spiritual beliefs, nothing is constant except change. You are born, you live for a time, you die, and are again reborn into a new life. To some, this never-ending cycle might seem repetitive, or boring. Birth, life, death, rebirth, over and over again.
What’s the point?
This is a question that people have asked since the first proto-humans were able to distinguish yesterday from today, and today from tomorrow. I don’t have any answers, I have only thoughts and ideas. My thought isn’t about how we move through innumerable cycles of life, death and rebirth, that’s a given in my mind. No, my thought is about how you exist in that part of each cycle we call life. This life, specifically.
I can’t speak to what happens between death and rebirth, I don’t remember. What I do know for a fact, is that we are each given the ability to make an impression when we are alive. While we are alive, we have the ability to put our thoughts and ideas into forms that can be passed down through the generations.
We all have the ability to make an impression that makes us notable far beyond our current life. We can write words, or create pictures, or simply help others to an extent that we become noticed for it by others. We have the ability to, for better or worse, impact the lives of others in a way that is notable.
Now I’m not saying that everyone will become known, should become known, or even wants to become known in a way we call fame. I’m simply saying that everyone has the ability, if they choose. Fame can be wide-spread, or it can be limited to a few people. The world can follow you on Twitter, or you can get an anonymous smile from someone you hold the door open for.
The type of recognition you get will depend entirely on the effort you make. The more effort you put into it, the greater the fame. In the digital world of YouTube, anyone can become famous for far longer than 15 minutes, simply by talking to their peers about makeup tips, or because they did something stupid in front of a camera. It’s a legacy that lives on after them.
So in this time of death and rebirth, I think about the impact I am making with my life. What might outlive me in this part of the cycle? This is something I believe everyone should think about. What are you doing with your life that is notable? If the answer is “nothing”, then are you truly living your life in this cycle, or are you simply existing?
We all are born with so much potential. We literally can do anything we put our mind to. As Witches and Pagans, we understand that far better than most. Yet, how many of us are just existing through our lives? People call me ambitious. Perhaps, but is it ambitious to want to make a difference, no matter how small?
I do what I do, to make a difference, and I have to wonder how different this world would be, if everyone else tried to make a difference also. We no longer work the fields from sun up to sun down, for six months of the year. We no longer spend the Winter months hunting for food and trying to survive. We all have time to make a difference, even a small one.
It comes down to priorities. What are your priorities? Have you thought about them lately? Each year, as the world around us dies, we are given the chance to look back at what we’ve done, and think about what we want to do. The Gods were kind enough to give us the Winter months to plan out how we can achieve the goals and ideas we were able to conceive as the world goes dormant. They were kinder still, to give us time after, to plant and nurture those ideas to fruition each year.
So if you aren’t making a difference, for you or others, my question to you is this: Are you going to use that incredible brain the Gods gave you, and this short stretch of time They have granted you, to make a difference for yourself or others, or are you going to waste these gifts, never taking advantage of these presents the Gods have given you?
As we come to the peak of Autumn, this is the time for each of us to dive deep within, and search out our True Purpose in this life. I can’t tell you the Meaning of Life. Only you can figure out your Meaning for yourself.
