"There are some people who say yes you can and there are some people who say no you can't. They say you only get one turn at life."

"Is it okay with you if I come back again?"

"Yeah sure," I shrugged, "if you want to. I don't see why not."

"I can come back and live again and again if I want to?"

"It's okay with me. You can come back as many times as you want. It's really up to you."

With a worried look on his face he asked, "Will you be my mom every time?"

"Yes, of course, honey. I'll always be your mom forever and ever."

His face lit up with relief at reassurance that I'd always be here for him. Then he asked, "So next time, can we be farmers?"

"No, absolutely not."

He did his best to argue point, but he never could convince me to become a farmer. I always told him that I was tired of working that hard and that I wanted to play more in my next life. He enjoyed a childhood in which he believed that he could be anything and everything he could dream of. He never worried about running out of time, because he had so many lifetimes to fill.

Over years, he's asked many big cosmic questions about spiritual and paranormal topics. How is it that sometimes we see visions of things before they happen? How is it that we can talk to guardian angels that we can't see and yet we can hear answers? How come not everyone hears them? Who's in charge? Why is it that religions are all so much alike and yet people fight so much over which one's exactly right? Who's right? How is it he could have memories of being an adult Native American warrior when he was only a young boy? Why is their music so haunting? How come he sees Celtic symbols in his dreams at night sometimes? Why is he so attached to falcons?

He's in high school now and has studied many different belief systems. He's not so sure now that reincarnation is how it all works. He's open to different beliefs, but as a rather scientific type, he's really quite skeptical and requires a lot of proof. I encourage him to do his own research and find proof as to what really happens after we die. He hasn't really studied religions for quite some time now because he's far more interested in studying girls and bass guitars. I'm not too worried about it because I know that seeds of spirituality were firmly planted in his upbringing and at some point in his future he will again look towards heavens for answers as to where he was before he was born.

Copyright 2003, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

Upon reflection, I can honestly say that every goal I've ever felt passionate about rooted from this list. Without realizing it, I had made most of my life choices from this list.

By identifying your true motivations and desires, it becomes easier to find direction in life. Now we know where your goals come from. What's root beneath your dreams? There is no right or wrong answers, just ideas at core of you. We could probably analyze what in your past makes you want to become things you put on your list. We could analyze how close you are to being all of things you've listed. It's not important. What matters is that now you know what it is you're aspiring to become.

Now it may seem to you that most of things you had originally dreamed of creating were gifts you would share with others. You were going to put kids through school. You were going to go on more vacations with your spouse. You were going to share your music with world. You didn't think you were being selfish. And you're right. You were not being selfish. It's just that everything we do serves us in some way. Every gift we give is every bit a gift to ourselves also. You give gift of a college education to your children and you give yourself gift of being a good parent in your own eyes, or gift of being a supporter of others in your own eyes. You get gift of seeing yourself as a good person. Give gift of music to world and you get to see yourself as a musician. You get to be what it is that you want to be.

By acknowledging to yourself how you want to be seen and what you want to be remembered for, you get in touch with your true purpose and what it is that drives you. Don't beat yourself up if you find that you want to be something that might sound stuck up or egotistical. It's okay to want to be liked, admired, respected. It's not like your root motivation is to be envied, or to be superior to everyone else. It's okay to want to be attractive, intelligent, prosperous. We've convinced ourselves somewhere along way that it's somehow wrong or evil to want to be wonderful or to be successful. The truth is, most of us would give back in appreciation for our successes. Most of us would spend more time with our loved ones. Most of us would give to charity. Most of us would do more volunteer work if we really had time and means. Nobody ever writes down "I want to be... greedy, selfish, and spoiled." We want to be positive wonderful things so that we can share our positive wonderful gifts with each other. Give yourself permission to become whatever it is on your list that really resonates within your heart.

Copyright 2003, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge