I Finally Understand

By Author: Theresa Chaze
Total Articles: 2
Comment this article

I Finally Understand
by
Theresa Chaze

I truly did not understand what the fuss was all about. Why so many people are so desperate to keep the shell of Terri Schiavo alive? Why some are so determined that every fetus be born. I didn't understand until I heard on a radio talk show a man explaining to the audience that the brain was the person. He believes that the sum of an individual resides in the brain, that all the wisdom, creativity, and emotions of a person are held within the synoptic working of the gray matter. The brain as all parts of the body are nor more what the individual is than the clothes she or he puts on every day. The body is to the soul what the clothes are to the body. It is how the soul manifests on the earthly plane so that it may mature and develop. It is this misunderstanding of what life and death are that keeps so many living in fear. They do not realize that death is not the end, but another beginning. When the body can no longer function for what ever reason, the soul discards it in order to move on to the next lesson or better said to the next life. By clinging or being forced ...
... to hold onto old, the soul can not move on.
In Terri Schiavo's case, her soul is trapped in between. She can not go forward. She can not go back. Tethered to a disintegrating body by her brain stem, she is forced watch her family's pain. She can not heal them or herself and because of the medical interference can she find a way to free herself. Instead she held in limbo. The damage to her brain can not be repaired. No therapy can reactivate the shorted out neurons. The fact that her body can not do the simplest things that an infant can do only proves that the damage is irreversible. A newborn can swallow and eat if fed; Terri cannot, which why the feeding tube is so important to her body's survival. You will notice I said body not Terri. She has crossed over; her body is merely existing because those who claim to love her refuse to let go. They care more about keeping the shell alive than doing what is best for her. Her family won't be free to heal until they accept the simply fact that it was time for her to move on. As long as they continue to fight what was destined to be neither Terri nor her family will not find peace.
Which brings us back to the questions--what is a person? What is life? Is life a beating heart? Is it the electrical activity in the brain? When is death? When the heart stops beating or when the brain can no longer conduct electrical impulses? So many are attached to the body, thinking that is all they are. They cling to the flesh unwilling to see that they are so much more than the physical. They believe that after the heart stops beating or there is no longer brain activity, they will disappear into nothingness. While others realize that they existed before they were born into the current body and will exist after they leave it. They see the body as no more than their current favorite outfit, which they will discard after it becomes worn. They see themselves not as their body, but as an immortal soul, currently living in a human form.
The same can be said about offspring. Whether you call them a fetus or baby, the only thing the parents create is a body for the Divinely created soul to wear. In a collaborated effort, the parents and incoming soul create a body that will be a genetically and gender compatible vehicle for the soul to enter the school of life. The process is a delicate balance of chemical and bioelectrical changes, which at any point could mismatch and the pregnancy fail. Many times the soul is not ready either because it is too young or damaged from a previous life to bring it to term. Sometimes the soul realizes that the parents or the body are no longer suitable for what it needs to experience. On the flip side, the mother has the right to decide her own destiny. If she chooses not to carry to term for whatever reason, she terminates the agreement and the soul is free to move on to find another suitable body to inhabit. Nothing but an empty shell has died.
To carry this thought further, all souls are independent beings with their own lessons and destinies to follow. Just because parents create the body the soul inhabits does not give them ownership of the soul inside. So many parents believe they own the children they have created; acting as if it is their right, they try forcing the child to fit into their pre-conceived notions and beliefs. They see the child as an extension of themselves instead an individual. Instead of being the guides and guardians, they try to live through their children. Instead of fostering individualism and independent thought in the child, they do their best to force her or him
to follow the same path--to act, look, and believe the same as if the child was merely an clone of the parent. But even when cloning does become possible, the offspring created will not be the same as the parent because the soul inside will be different. As with identical twins, clones will look a like the parent, but the soul inside will be an individual with separate needs and desires.
Again I ask what is the fuss about? It is Terri Schiavo's time to leave, but her parents will see her again whether they believe in heaven or reincarnation. Abortion terminates unwanted bodies, while the soul continues on. No one is ever truly lost because souls are Divinely created and immortal. Bodies die; souls move on.

About the Author Theresa Chaze is a fully dedicated Wiccan Priestess. Her first novel, Dragon's New Home--The Beginning of the Dragon Clan Trilogy is now available. It is based on her philosophy that all people can live together in peace as long as they come from respect. She invites you to visit her site at: "http://www.geocities.com/tirgana/Tirgana.html"