A Dead End Job

Imagine what an other worldly welcome for Rob Reiner would look like. Here was a person who seized  opportunities to brighten his world, primarily with the films he created. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He made us think. He celebrated imagination and love and justice. He used his personal resources to reach out for others. He and his wife may have been sent from this life unexpectedly, brutally in the worst way if their son was, indeed, the doer of the deeds. But Rob Reiner left nothing he could contribute undone. His wife Michele died with him as she had stood beside him for so many years.

Compare those lives to the millions who’ve been exploded or shot or starved into whatever comes after this life without a chance to fully be in this one. Imagine the weary soul of a child left to start all over in a new life without familiar parents. Imagine the regret of adults who never had a chance to fulfill their dreams, never celebrated honest love. Imagine the violent ones suddenly realizing their darkness was of their own design–with no one to blame but their choices, as well as the sorry fact that the story could’ve been different. They were the shadow against someone else’s bright light.

Even if you don’t believe in the existence of human beings as both physical and non-physical beings, imagining what a life review would be like may be a helpful exercise. “What did you do with your life, Daddy?” Would a shooter recount the innocents that fell before his/her weapon as triumphs when there was no progress, no reward, no joy in the misery of others? Would destroying people who were actively working to create a better, kinder world feel like an accomplishment? What if you were forced to experience the pain or sorrow you delivered?

We as a people have had ample opportunity to witness what happens when a leader’s worst impulses are honored. We’ve seen many examples of groups who decide the world would be better if only their perceived enemies were annihilated. Did mass murder or genocide ever make the world more joyful or more beautiful? Doesn’t the loop of a tale of destruction seem to repeat itself perpetually from civilization to civilization? What could’ve ended the loop?

Before we give ourselves to the glory of our various holidays, let’s take one moment to wonder what our life stories will sound like if we have to recount them. Will our achievements be worthy of the efforts and resources we used? Will we be proud of who we’ve been, given the possibilities that were open to us? Will we wish we had used the time we were given to lend ourselves more completely to kindness and compassion? Just wondering. Domination can be lonely when you can’t trust your friends. Obligation makes empty friendships. Killing is a dead end job.

(The book I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW by Wayne Dyer might provide perspective from a person who believed himself into impacting the world.)