Sojourn of the Soul

 In another life before I came to be,

        My soul agreed to what should happen to me,

From joyous peaks to deep dark valleys,

          Whether living in luxe or sleeping in alleys,

In a world made up of pure love and light,

          I agreed to a contract with all my might,

And then it was lost in time and space,

          A distant memory, my mind did erase.

And so, with light did I enter this world,

          A mere innocent babe, my life unfurled.

From youth to adolescence, I slowly came of age,

          Jaded by the world, building my own cage.

Every day, just a little bit further removed,

          From the knowledge of the life my soul approved.

The struggles, the suffering, a constant fight,

          Daily, asking why, why, why this plight?

Until that fateful moment arrived,

          Fulfilling the contract I once contrived.

It happened so fast, I fell to the ground,

          I saw the chaos, but I heard no sound.

A moment as black as the darkest of night,

          And then I awoke, surrounded by light.

Looking down on my body, how can it be,

          That I am here, and there, and both are me?

And then I felt your luminous voice,

          Calming me, telling me this was my choice.

Teacher, angel, bearer of pure light,

          In human form, though blurred was my sight,

Your silver clothes woven with radiant filament,

          Truly, you came to me from beyond the firmament.

To my higher self, you tried to explain,

          That this path that I followed, my soul did ordain.

There were so many choices that I could take,

          But always, the contract, I could never break.

Would that I had chosen a different path,

          Perhaps my body would be spared this wrath,

But this very moment, in a liminal space,

          Was my encounter with that which is grace.

Your essence is pure, no judgement did you bring,

          You held me close, wrapped in your wing.

And then you started to show me scenes,

          Revealing to me what everything means,

My life in review, I felt so much shame,

          But you who are love, never once did you blame.

Instead, you encouraged me, lifting my spirit,

          There is no hate here, no need to fear it.

The point was simply for me to understand,

          Despite free will, some things are still planned.

And that all my words and actions matter,

          There is no such thing as pointless chatter.

Everything we say and do has great power,

          To nourish or wither a fellow spirit, a flower.

The choice is mine, to embrace the light,

          The rest of my life story, I’ve still yet to write.

So, take this moment of lucid clarity,

          And begin to live a life of verity.

Despite my protest, longing to stay,

          My soul’s contract, I could not betray.

And so I returned to my body at last,

          Reframing all the experiences buried in my past.

What had my knowing spirit already agreed to?

          My perspective now shifted, I approach everything anew.

This life it serves to teach my soul,

          Redeeming humanity, making us whole.

So, now I walk about this earth,

          Seeing in everything its inherent worth,

And how I admire those who struggle and suffer,

          Stronger souls that agreed to a life that is tougher.

Each moment and every circumstance,

          Plays a part in this, the cyclical life dance.

From lessons learned, we discover gifts to give,

          Let us love abundantly in all the ways that we live.

Dane Dowell

May 30, 2024

Written after listening to Nancy Rynes talk about her near-death experience: watch it here.