My Thoughts On Reincarnation

Reincarnation is a tough topic, especially in these modern days. Some people seriously believe in it, while some don't. I never used to think about it, but I have heard stories that make me wonder if there could be more to life and death.

The word is no longer strange to me, it comes up more often, mostly from my mom. She so much believes in it. From our previous conversation, she always found ways to link certain behaviours in someone to someone who had already passed on. At first, I used to brush it off, sometimes even jokingly rebuking it because I didn't see how anyone could be sure about such things.

One time, she told me something that really left me speechless. She said that when I was born, she believed her own mother, who had passed long before, had come back through me. She told her brothers, and they quickly rebuked it jokingly, saying that their mother was dark-skinned and not an albino child. I think those beliefs came from the deep love she had for her mom, maybe the need to feel her close again.

Also, there was my brother's first child; after his birth, he was diagnosed with a severe heart condition. We heard that the baby's maternal grandfather had a similar heart issue. My mom still made a statement that the father had come back to them through him. My nephew behaves maturely; he is so sharp, like an old man in a child's body. This made me wonder if there was more to this reincarnation thing.

And just recently, my mom and I were having our usual random gist. We were laughing and talking about how sharp-mouthed my second niece is now. I told her about how the little girl once said to me in a video call, "Aunty precious, I'm talking to you", with a serious attitude, and she was just two years old! We both laughed about it, proud of how well she's growing and how she already knows how to hold a full conversation.

Then, out of nowhere, my mom said she once told her daughter-in-law that the baby might be the reincarnation of her grandmother, who had passed not quite long ago. Her daughter-in-law immediately rebuked it; reminding my mom that the baby had been born before her grandmother died. I just laughed and told my mom her own is too much, and asked if it is everyone she knows that's reincarnated. She went on to tell me that the grandmother loved to talk a lot, even when she couldn't move around much. She saw the same talkative nature of our in-laws in the baby. Maybe it was a coincidence.

I still don't believe in it, but part of me feels that my mom sees reincarnation in everyone she loves, and I believe the same goes for people out there who also believe in it. I think it brings peace, closeness and the sense that the people that had lost and held dearly haven't totally left them. Whether it is real or not, I have come to understand that the idea brings comfort to the bereaved.