The Truth Is, You Do NOT Only Live Once

I don’t believe we only have “one life.”

I believe we have multiple lives during this one existence. Reincarnation happens with a steady heartbeat. And the more you’re creating and building and learning and searching and exploring and giving, the more “lives” you experience. The LESS of the above that you do, the less lives you go through.

Ever meet someone who’s EXACTLY the same, and doing pretty much the same thing as when you met them 10-15-20 years ago? Is that a bad thing? If they’re happy, no, it means they found “it.” If they’re unhappy or uncertain or regretful or fearful or disappointed or disengaged or complaining or contrite… then for sure, they stopped too soon. They settled for that “one life” instead of searching for – creating – the next one.

For me, high school was a different life. College was a life. My first seven years at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati was all one life, and towards the end I felt some of the above and knew I needed to keep moving or I’d get stuck… my last two years at P&G was its own life – one of the most magical lives, which I’m super grateful for – where I got to see 40 countries around the world. That life had a profound impact on me. Because travel is the ultimate learning experience. The irony of travel is that it’s not about the places you see, its about the people you meet. And the farther you go, the more you learn about yourself. World exploration leads to self discovery. And the avalanche of experiences that envelop you teach you more than anything else can teach you. That life is where I found my passion and began thinking about my purpose.

After that I had my San Francisco (GoPro ) life. Then I had my first year of Besomebody life all around the world. Then lives in Austin, Lakeway, Boston and now back to Cincinnati.

I also had lives – as we all do – that were not dictated by location or pursuits, but by intense or traumatic events and relationships. The loss of a family member. Sickness or abuse or injury. Betrayal. Birth. Periods where your whole life – for better or worse – is centered on one person… Those lives imprint us deeply.

Some loved ones, many friends and thousands of acquaintances do not move from life to life with us. We leave some behind. Some voluntarily eject from the life-change. Losing relationships during each transition is the toughest part. But for sure, it’s a necessary part.

And as you move from life to life, you can change a lot. The more drastic the shift or dramatic the jump, the more different you can become. As long as you are learning, and leveraging that learning, it’s always all good. Good change can come from bad experiences. We often forget that. Some of the greatest things were born from some of the worst times.

The one part of you that remains constant from life to life is your soul. You can’t change your soul. And that’s a good thing. That’s the real you – without all the dressings and costumes and filters and layers. Your soul is always beautiful. Though sometimes it takes many “lives” to realize it.

So yeah… forget this whole “one life” stuff.

When you’re happy, stop. If you’re not, keep going. Don’t settle for your current life if you’re not where you want to be. Don’t forget you can change “lives” by just deciding to go to the next. Don’t spend so much time mourning your past life that you prevent yourself from creating a new one. Keep flowing – gratefully and gracefully – from one life to the next, until you find the life that feels most like home. 

#besomebody.

Kash.

This article was originally posted on the Advice platform of Besomebody.com: https://besomebody.com/advice/2017/05/07/truth-not-live/