I have a new granddaughter, a 6-pound bundle of perfect incarnation, not yet 2 weeks old. As I hold her I am not only reminded of the ineffable wonder of creation that produces a new life, but I have also been contemplating the why of it, why we souls become embodied. Why do we choose this physical experience? Why are we here?
Many traditions teach that we come into life to learn, to develop ourselves and our ability to love and serve, to express compassion and to understand truth and integrity. Human incarnation–our visceral physical presence– allows us the experiences of ego and emotion, both positive and negative, and allows us to feel attachment—to people, places, experiences and outcomes—in ways that are both wonderful and difficult. We are enlivened by joy and pleasure and challenged to grow by loss and pain.
If I were not here in this form, how would I know the incomparable pleasure of holding my newborn granddaughter, or experience the quality of love she engenders in me?
But there is more to it than that.
We come as creators. We are each sources of spiritual energy, each uniquely configured to shape our own lives with intention and to bring blessings to ourselves, to others and to the world. Human beings are living sources of spiritual energy, and we arrive here in this form with great prospect for channeling our own creative abilities towards improving the world and touching others in it.
It is unmistakably evident, from the moment of birth, that each infant is one of a kind. There is a presence in each unlike all others. There is a feel to that little person–he or she has his or her own signature. Nothing makes this clearer than meeting a newborn.
David Spangler identifies this newborn spirit as a special energy arising from the act of incarnation itself, an act which generates a burst of creative spiritual and vital force that is part of who we are…and is an inner resource upon which we can draw to bring change to the world:
“You are yourself, as an incarnate individual, a source of spiritual energy. Human beings are not simply conduits for spiritual forces from higher levels to pass through you into the world; each person is a unique generative source of such forces in ways appropriate to the world in which you live.” (Spangler, Incarnational Spirituality, Lorian Press 2008).
So why are we here?
As a person with awareness of nonphysical, nonlinear and unseen realms, which hold great attraction (think “heaven”), I have thought much about this over many years. Why be here, incarnate, rather than in the nonphysical dimensions? Here is my answer: We are each here as a blessing, as an extension of The Sacred/God/Source, embodied to create and bring beauty and change in the world, each in our own unique ways, supported by the essence of Self, to grow this world in the spirit of love.
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Maggie Spilner says
Congratulations, Susan, on the birth of your granddaughter! I was just pondering why I haven’t seen mine for almost 2 weeks! Time for another Gammy/Zoe get together…a truly joyful relationship.
susan says
Have fun Gammy!
Anne Frisoli says
Hello Susan, She is beautiful and you look so happy. Best wishesAnne