[alchemy63]

This is not another discussion about re-incarnation. This is a discussion about how, what we leave behind, affects future generations.

Suppose I am a person who, during the course of my life, has very harmful behavior and, in the process of inter-acting with others, I am mean, cold hearted, and vicious. Suppose I have children, or, if I don't have children, I am in a position where I'm able to influence not only the children, but others around me.

How might my personal actions affect others? Suppose I am an employer. My actions, because I am powerful and successful, might lead my employees to believe that, to get ahead, they have to be efficiently business minded. I have to have a no nonsense approach to life and, when it's necessary, I am ruthless, not only competing, but, annihilating the competition. My goal is to have it all so that I have total control of everything and, when you look at my life, it can appear that I do have it all.

So, my employee goes home and he is a little bit uncaring towards his wife and children. He wants them to understand that life is a tough gamble and they need a shield of armor to get through it. They, in turn, become a little less caring. He hasn't taught them that there's any line about how little they should care, only, that they can be less caring, and, should be, if they want to succeed that is.

So, his child grows up, never knowing where this line is. He teaches his own children, that too much caring is a weakness. His child aslo grows up, uncaring.

The grandfather dies and passes on and leaves a wealth of cash and objects for his legacy. By all appearances, they are successful.

Inside the house, where no one ever sees, is a lot of uncaring. At times, it may even be abusive.

The grandfather has died, but, his life has lives on, and lives again, through his children.

[pachyderm]

Were you speaking of Vladimir Putin?

Or lots of others we could amass a list of...

[(JD)]

I do believe that our energy is never destroyed...and continues in one of two ways. None of us are good...whether we know it or not while we are here in this life. It's not what we do or what we have but Who we know that determines how the next spiritual life (after physical life) is lived....peacefully or in turmoil.

[alchemy63]

I really messed up that last sentence, I'm surprised anyone knew what I was talking about, but, it seems like you did. Let me fix it:

The grandfather has died, but, his spirit lives on, in the form of his life teachings, values, and beliefs, passed on to his children, and, his childrens' children.

There, that's better.

That's funny Pachyderm, I hadn't thought of that, but, I guess you're right, the list could be loooong.

JD, I like the way you've described us as being energy, that's' how I see it too, and, there is a scientific rule that no energy is ever lost, it only changes form. I wasn't thinking so much about what "God" does with our spirit after we die in this article, I was thinking about what the people we leave behind do with it. It stays alive in their memories, in as close to a perfect replication as they can recall, or, the replication they choose to recall, for as long as they tell the stories of what dear grandad did.

I didn't intend for this to be a scathing of wealthy folks. There are just as many scandalous poor folks. The story could be altered in a few ways.

The grandfather could have kept his principles, found another job, lived honestly, earned a good living, and still handed something on to the kids.

The kids could have chosen not to be like dad, become fine young men with high virtue, married, had beautiful, loving children.

In any scenario, the ending would be the same. Their spirits would live on, in memorial, aside from Gods' interaction in that aspect. Their lessons and spirit, in the form of his life teachings, values, and beliefs, healthy, or not, would be taught and re-taught, generated and re-generated, with every new generation. The spirit would have life after life after life and again and again and again.

None of us are good

Sorry, I can't agree with that.

[(JD)]

I think you're talking about legacy?

[alchemy63]

In a word, yes. Legacy. But legacy is such a two dimensional word on paper. Legacies are alive.