Chapter 4
1163 Words
4
Every morning, early before it got too hot, and every evening as the sun was setting, I made it a habit, except on stormy days, to walk out to the rear of the farm, and back again of course. Very seldom on the morning jaunts but more often in the evenings, Jason or Nancy, or sometimes both of them, would accompany me. It was good exercise for all of us.
On the jaunts when I was alone, Tom sometimes popped in to accompany me. Because of my experiences visiting with Grandpa in Heaven, along with Tom’s explanations of those visits, I believed I was ready to hear further explanations concerning how all of this worked. Tom agreed, to a point, so he answered some of my questions and deferred others to his famous ‘later.’
“Jason, in spirit form, visited me first when I was probably almost five, and then not too long after that initial visit, he brought along you, Nancy, and Crystal to play with me, right?”
“Right,” Tom said.
“You told me you would not be disappearing as my playmate like the others did, and you were remaining as my guide, right?”
“Right.”
“So, are you what is referred to in books as my Spirit Guide for this incarnation?”
“That’s me.”
“Figured as much. So, you don’t get to pop into bodies like the others have done?”
“Not this time around, or in proper terminology, not in this round of incarnations.”
“Explain, please.”
“You, I, Nancy, Jason, Crystal, your parents, your grandparents, Crystal’s parents and grandparents, and many, many others are currently part of the same soul group. The souls in a soul group reincarnate together throughout a number of different time periods, sometimes hundreds of years apart. They are seldom in the same relationship as they were in their previous incarnations, but they also could be. For example, in your previous incarnation, your grandpa might have been your son or brother, or even your mother or sister. Souls are sexless. It is the human bodies that are male and female. Most souls will experience lives as males at times and females at other times. They will also experience incarnations in different cultures, different races, different religions, and different geographical regions. I know that is a lot to digest at once, but you wanted more information. Now I hope you also understand why I could not tell you about this when you were younger, and I probably would not be telling you even now at nineteen either if it had not been for your soul’s vivid visits with your grandfather.”
“Wow! That definitely is a lot to digest.”
“Yep. I will stop there and let you think about all of this for quite some time before we take it to the next level.”
“Okay. That makes good sense to me.”
Now and then I would ask Tom about certain aspects of his explanations, but I never hounded him to go on to anything new. “Do you also visit with Jason, Nancy, and Crystal?” I asked one day on our walk together.
“I check up on them but do not visit in the same way I visit with you.”
“So, you are not their Spirit Guide also?”
“No. Everyone has their own Spirit Guide. There are also other spirits that assist different people with specialized problems or situations.”
“Explain, please.”
“I am your Spirit Guide for day-to-day living. If you had a tough problem, say, in mechanics or aeronautics, then another guide, expert in those fields, would try to help you with these unique areas. Think of me as a generalist in your soul group. Make sense?”
“Yes, but you also said you looked in on Jason, Nancy, and Crystal.”
“I pop in and check up on them often, but they do not see me, just like I pop in and check on your mom and dad also. We are all part of the same soul group, remember?”
“I understand. So, you know where Crystal is?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“She is not too far away.”
“But where?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Why.”
“Her information is private to her, not just anyone who wants to know. Because you two are in our soul group, then someday your paths may cross again. Humans have free will to make decisions in their lives. Let me explain it this way. If you decided to go to college in Chicago, you would not have been in your accident in Cincinnati.”
“You mean I would not have been in an accident at all?”
“I didn’t say that. You could not have been in the accident in Cincinnati if you were in Chicago. We will never know if you would have been in an accident in Chicago because you were not there. Think of life as a journey of many choices. Your choices create certain possibilities and eliminate others. Make sense?”
“Kind of.”
Changing topics on you, readers, but not time frames, when I came home from the hospital after rehab, I wanted to find a summer job to earn some money. My father put the kibosh on that very quickly. He insisted that my primary concern was my health. He also added that money was not going to be a problem anymore. After the accident, he had quickly contacted his lawyer who referred him to a very successful personal injury lawyer. It also turned out that the father of the other driver was a big company executive with oodles of money and insurance coverage. There was not going to be a big legal battle over a reasonable settlement. The main obstacle to an early settlement was waiting for my recovery to see the extent of any permanent disabilities I might have. Fortunately, the only long-term problem has been arthritis in my shattered thigh bone.
The driver’s father visited my parents at home one day just before I was released from the hospital. He told them that he would pay for all of my educational expenses, including residence fees, as long as I continued attending college or university, and that this was in addition to the settlement arranged between the insurance company and our lawyer. He only asked that this be our secret and not shared with the insurance company or our lawyer. Of course, we agreed. The driver’s father kept his promise one hundred percent.
The insurance company and our lawyer settled my injury compensation just before Christmas. Marvelous timing! I paid off the mortgage on my parents’ farm, in spite of their protests, bought myself a fairly new Chevy Impala, and banked the rest for future reference. For the first time, I joined the happy minority of students with their own vehicle at college. The unfortunate accident taught me a life-changing lesson. I buckled down and became a nerdy student. I also made sure my alcohol intake was restricted to a bare minimum.
My Chevy Impala made me popular with the ladies, but I was careful to avoid the party babes. I dated the bookworms instead. No regrets. I enjoyed the company of a number of girlfriends over my college years, but none of these relationships felt like they should be made permanent.
- Writer
