After the first death, there is no other

“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
~ Albert Einstein

I delight in metaphor and double entendre, and in this phrase I find many meanings, both apparent and hidden, biological and spiritual.

There seems to be a sense of Alaska as a place where one can travel and start anew, recreate and redefine. I remember talking with a fellow community  member in late winter, who advised me to focus on the self and spend time immersed in place to discover anew my reasons for moving to Alaska.

I found a dead juvenile crane this winter on the first day of 2011. Not all species have the luxury to live outside of the present, immersed in philosophical thought and retrospection. I have found this crane multiple times through the final days of winter and the first of spring. It is a reminder that echoes across the crane flats to live each day for yourself and for those who may not be living life to the fullest or who are not able to.

Can we live multiple lives in one, reincarnate our sense of self and the borders that define our individual realities? Why not? While I realize we humans make many failed attempts to control this ever dynamic universe, full of surprises around every corner, I enjoy the notion that there is some choice involved.

For instance, I can choose to release my soul from cultural bondage, even within the confines of the structured reality within which I live, some of which I create myself but much of with I choose to take in stride, weighing the benefits and drawbacks each day (sometimes each hour).

I can live with life’s challenges if I can find choices, however limited they may seem at times, from which to create my own reality. And I can live many lifetimes in one, starting anew with each early dawn.