When Endings Outnumber Beginnings
by Qumran Taj • East Northport, NY

It is in our nature to contemplate the future. Once you reach a certain age, however, you will do the math and come to the same conclusion we all must; there’s more life behind than ahead.

So it is that I find myself in the waning months of 2010 and in the early autumn of my life. I sit back to savor the years I’ve had. Memories flash across the IMAX screen hidden behind my closed eyelids. There I am, sitting in 5th grade Social Studies class (that’s what they used to call “World Studies” many moons ago). The scene blurs and is replaced with the stern face of that man, clipboard in hand, who stands between me and my drivers license. He is judge, jury and executioner - all sitting in my car! My thoughts quickly find another, less terrifying recollection. I hear a sharp “smack” and the sound of a baby crying. It’s my first-born son! Three times I was blessed in this way. One last fastforward finds me once again in the maternity ward, but this time I’m cradling my lovely granddaughter! Yes, every stage in life is golden.

Isn’t it ironic that the first leg of our life journey is spent yearning for what is to come, while the second looks behind to what is gone? So what of the present? How much time do we spend here in the NOW? Those who won’t savor each day like a rare delicacy are doomed to experience their lives only as reruns in the “Theatre of Lost Opportunities.”

When we begin to catch sight of the autumn of our years, when endings outnumber beginnings, it’s natural to feel that uneasy dread of the greatest of all mysteries drawing nearer. Nature is the great pragmatist. Organisms that experience a lifecycle and then die, making room for a better, stronger generation is a rather efficient system. The problem is that our own individual lives must end in the process. Still and all, this is the position each and every one of us finds ourselves in. There are many lessons concealed within earth’s seasons and cycles. Ponder them and you just might adopt a whole new outlook on what happens next. By its very definition, a cycle begins at a given point then follows its’ course to eventually arrive at the start of a NEW beginning. The moon is “new” and waxes until full, only to wane until we can see it no longer. The earth goes through its paces around the sun. Seasons for hunting, planting, growth and harvest rise and fall year after year. As far as I know life does not exist outside of a cyclical model. Life comes from life and flows into life. Indeed, life also causes death.

Evidence suggests that every living organism dies. We all cease to live. Correction; we have ample evidence that our body ceases to function. It breaks down into its component parts, minerals, etc., and is re-assimilated by the earth. The real question is this: is meat, bones and blood, all you are? What happens to the YOU that is not flesh and blood? In truth, there are no “remains” to prove that your life force, your personality or your soul has ceased to exist. Nature offers an intriguing clue. They say during every seven years your body’s cells are completely replaced! YOU may be far older but, from a purely biological standpoint, your body is only seven years old. Evidently, your personality, your life force survives the death of your body cells. What if your personality, your essence survives the death of your body?

The question of life after death is beyond the scope of this article but, as we are contemplating endings and natural cycles, why not also consider when and how it all begins anew? I suppose it is to be expected that my thoughts should gravitate to what my next ‘gig’ will be, or even IF there will be something for me beyond this lifecycle. No matter. I’ve decided it will be my goal to savor the past, cherish the present and look forward to whatever God sees fit to show me later.

Qumran Taj is a writer, teacher, artist, professional psychic and wizard. He has been busy helping people find their own unique spiritual path for well over 20 years. Qumran’s classes and teachings are highly motivational, self-affirming and spiritually uplifting. He is the owner of “Wizards,” located in East Northport, Long Island, NY. Mr. Taj has been interviewed for newspapers, radio, television and film. For more information: www.wizardsonlinestore.com.