“To me, the concept of an individual soul being on a spiritually unique mission involves the observation that people are born with a certain temperament, a sense of déjà vu, dreams, and feelings related to previous incarnations. This is then combined with genetics, and experiences in the current incarnation. Thus I can’t get inside anybody else’s head to understand their experience, just as no one else can get inside my head to understand my experience. Each soul is on a unique path. If all the material things were lost, it would not matter, for my soul moves from one incarnation to another, inhabiting different physical bodies,” said Brayden, holding forth on topics of philosophy, metaphysics, and the meaning of life, as the younger coeds sat in rapt attention on comfortable pillows stitched with designs of Far Eastern mysticism.
“He’s so deep,” said one of the coeds, Lena, in a haze of magenta smoke.
Brayden was about to graduate from college with a degree in Philosophy, and he was sure to be missed by the coeds, who were enthralled by his thoughts, taking magic rides on the winds of his philosophical notions. When asked about what kind of job he was going to look for after graduation, Brayden said, “I am just a soul on a mission, or just a human being evolved from apes and the simplest organisms wandering around on this chunk of solidified gas and dust, which has been forming for billions of years. I exist on this planet, as does any other living thing.”
Upon graduation, Brayden moved into Lena’s apartment. Lena was still in college with a full academic workload, amassing student loan debt, as she tried to supplement her income by working at night as a supermarket cashier. One day, Lena gently suggested to Brayden that he start looking for a job. “Capitalism is not only an economic system, but it’s also one of many belief systems made to give a feeling of meaning and order in a meaningless universe. These systems are a way for the power structure to maintain control and protect the institutions they’ve bought into, believing their own lies,” responded Brayden.
“Well, I just found out that I’m pregnant with our baby,” replied Lena, then adding, “I hear that the munitions factory is hiring.”
Soon Brayden was working on the assembly line at the munitions factory, manufacturing ball bearings and rotor components for weapons systems. On his first day of work at the factory, Brayden shared some thoughts with his co-worker: “Frank, why were we not all created with the innate consciousness of a transcendental experience? To be free of aggression, acquisitiveness, greed, exploitation. To have a true free gentle appreciation of life and the beauty around us. To look at the world and each other with wide-eyed childlike innocence. As opposed to living in a multitude of personal and tribal jails. Perpetuation of our tribal institutions is a jail, and forcing ourselves against that perpetuation is a jail, in this relative sense. Thus, we create wondrous twists on the truth of the human experience. Why weren’t we given non-predatory natures, and how can the mind be tapped into the beauty more of the time?”
“What the hell are you talking about? Take that ingot over to the smelting area!” said Frank. On his way to the smelting area, Brayden suddenly had a clear idea of why the universe had placed him at the munitions factory, a true moment of clarity, but then he was hit in the head with a ball bearing thrown by a co-worker, and the epiphany went away.
The next day, a rat was found on the factory floor. “Possibly some animals are higher up on the ladder of evolution than humans in that they will not be the ones who try to control and ultimately destroy nature,” commented Brayden, adding, “They are organisms in relatively more harmony with the earth and the universe. In their simplicity, they may be what we are supposed to be, and perhaps we get closer to that consciousness by looking inward. But reason and compassion should set us above the animals.” Frank had no response, and another co-worker threw a rotor component at Brayden’s head.
Five years, ten years, and then twenty years passed, with Brayden slowly working his way up the ranks at the munitions factory, becoming Assistant Manager of Production. One day, he called his old assembly line co-worker Frank into the office. “Frank, we’ve got a new order for bomber aircraft rotor components; here’s my plan for stepping up production.”
As they reviewed the strategy, Frank said, “You know, I remember when you first started here. Every day you’d come in spouting some mumbo-jumbo. I didn’t know what to make of you, but I started to kind of look forward to what you were going to say next. What happened?”
“Let’s stay on task and discuss the rotor components,” said Brayden, his eyes dead, the spark gone.
