I want to say it began with something that shook the world, but it didn’t, not in the way one would think. It didn’t shake the rest of the world, but it shook her world, and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?
It began with the birthing of a soul – her soul. The birth wasn’t easy. It was, in fact, the most painful experience she’d ever had, in every way imaginable. Physically, she fought for every breath, she stumbled on shaky legs and fell to her knees aching for release, but forced herself up again to push through the crowning, to push through the agony, to give it all for the new life coming from her. Emotionally, her world crumbled, and she watched while all she knew herself to be evaporated in front of her – she watched it, she cried, and she held on to life because something greater was coming. Spiritually, she surrendered, but that surrender didn’t come easily. No, it came when she accepted that it was the end, that she would not – could not – survive this process.
That is the birth of a soul. It is born with blood, sweat, and tears. And with every birth comes a death.
The soul that rises into the unknown of a new life must look back at the old, look back and recognize the strength and pain that had to be endured in order for that soul to exist. It must acknowledge and honor the one that persevered, that cried, wept and gave everything for the life of that soul.
Because, you see, that woman gave all that she was for that soul to live. Everything that woman knew, everything she had been, and everything she hoped to become, had to die in order for the soul to rise.
The greatest sacrifice was given in the hopes that the being rising from the ashes would look back and honor the sacrifice, honor it and become something greater, something far more expansive than the woman ever hoped to be. That the life sacrificed would be worth the pain, in the end, and the birth would be enough to change the world.
So while the world did not shake at the birth of this soul, the ripples may get stronger as they go, and in the end, who knows. Maybe it will shake the world.