Recycle, Reduce, Reincarnate and Close the Loop

I have always been entranced by the idea of reincarnation. After all, as the saying goes (a quote by somebody famous I believe) "Nothing which has been made can be unmade," and I believe this whole heartedly. What better use of a created and creative consciousness than to be recycled, an old spirit- a new body. For every death I experience (and boy, have there been quite a few lately) this belief gives me a sense of hope and passage, and I am comforted by the idea of death as downward arch in this beautiful and repeating cycle- like an ancient ritual. All very much along the lines of dream catchers and crystals and burning sage and the like...

I see the distinct possibility of reincarnation when I look into the knowing eyes of this amazingly sharp and perceptive child whose family I work for. Certainly this soul knows so much more than one expects from a four year old. Is it all just a perfect blend of nature meets nurture? Is it natural smarts, and prodigy level wits? Or has this soul been here before- has it maintained a grasp on the knowledge it's accumulated?

I do have an issue though, with the idea of reincarnation. If we've all traversed such a span of time, why haven't we got more solutions, only more problems. If we've recycled our very souls- our essences- why have we not reduced ourselves back to the basics, back to what's truly important and what works. For, to quote a lyric from Jewel- beloved by yours truly circa highschool- "What's simple is true." This is all my speculation, mind you, but according to this template of reincarnation, have we simply become overwhelmed by the experiences we've accumulated or maladjusted to the changes over the centuries? Why haven't we applied what we ought to know, and our we doomed to reapeat mistakes each lifetime, and flounder in these repeating patterns?

There is still so much doubt and waste and ignorance and hedonism and pride. In all of us, like it or not. And those who overcome these things. Maybe the more ignorant, the cruel the wasteful ones among us are simply newer souls, they haven't yet experienced the cycles enough to learn productive habits. Maybe the wiser and the kinder people among us are the truly old souls. They are our Saints our Prophets our Saviors and our Bodhisattva's.