Essay On The Next Life

Do you believe in reincarnation? Personally I never did before. I cannot say that I belong to that category of people who refer themselves to any particular religion or devote their lives to appreciating gods or saints. I preferred to characterize myself as a rational person. I believed in rationality and usually can find a sober reason and explanation to anything in the world – everything that seems to be supernatural has a rational explanation. I never really thought and cared about my soul, but a tiny event that recently happened in my life made me change my views and beliefs completely.
Not long ago I lost my grandmother. She was the best person I have ever known. She used to gather the whole family under her roof for holidays and during some weekends. She prepared great dinners, as she was a former cook at the restaurant. Still when I visit her house I have a strange feeling that she is in the kitchen busy preparing some treats and I wait the moment she will enter the dining room with her new dish that she read in her favorite newspaper. My grandmother was not very tall. She was in a good shape, because in her youth she was engaged in swimming and athletics. Her face is a simple, open, immediately noticed a high forehead with deep wrinkles and a straight nose. The time left a visible trace on her face, but her eyes still were full of life and energy. They were smiley and dark blue, as two deep oceans full of enigmas and conundrums. Their expression varied depending on the mood of granny – one moment they were sad, then serious, sometimes sly, mocking, but mostly affectionate and attentive. I loved to look into them – grandmother understands everything, she wants to be trusted in, devote to her the most sacred secrets. Also my grandmother had an amazing voice – soft and melodic. It soothed and charmed me. As a child I loved to listen to my grandmother reading me books, reciting poems or just telling stories from her past.
All in all it was the saddest event in my life, as I attended the funeral for the first time. My heart ached when I saw my parents and the younger sister crying and whipping. The sound of orchestra playing melancholy melodies created an atmosphere of mourning and sorrow. Those tunes cut me to the heart and every deep low tone produced by cellos and tubas echoed inside of me as if adjusting to my beats of my heart. But the hardest thing for me was to see my grandpa. He was just broke and his face wore an expression of such a pain that I wondered how he managed to hold everything inside. There were no tears in his eyes but they were as red as two rubies. The black clothes seemed to reflect his inner state. I cannot and do not want to imagine what a burden it is to live in a house where you used to live with your beloved the whole life. How it is emotionally difficult to walk around the empty rooms, sleep alone in a bed and see the things that will always remind you of a loss.
After a long time of suffering my grandpa finally decided to gather his will in a fist and to move on. One day he went for a walk in the park. He prefers to sit on one particular bench where he met my grandma. It is a sacred place for him and he always visits it in the times of trouble and sorrow. Grandpa likes to tell that story every time we gather for a family dinner and all the members of the family already know it by heart. It was a warm summer day in July. My grandpa – young and handsome – was sitting on the bench with a bouquet of flowers. He was waiting for his date – a woman that he barely knew, but decided to ask her out. As revealed later, he mixed up the place of meeting and was wasting time in a wrong place. That very day my granny was hurrying for her job interview at the new cafe that was just about to open. Grandfather noticed her as she was running. He says he was charmed with her red hair and tine feet with which she galloped as a doe escaping from a hunter. She immediately tickled his fancy and he followed her to the café. After some time he managed to get acquainted with her and ask for an appointment. They met each other the next day and never parted until the day of her demise. Grandfather was sitting on that very bench and was remembering the better times and recalling the moments of happiness. That day he noticed a dog that was running along the path. The dog was very beautiful and seemed to be pedigreed. It was ginger.
“What a lovely animal.” Thought grandpa and beckoned it with his hand. “Come here. Come to me.” The very minute the dog saw him, it ran to him wagging the tail. The very second my grandpa saw its eyes of a color of ocean he understood everything and began crying. He was sure that it was his wife, that it was my granny. As it was without a dog-collar, he took the dog home and still it leaves with him. He named her Julie as the name of the month he met my grandma for the first time. Grandfather takes a good care of Julie – takes her for a walk, talks with it, reads to it books and newspapers and they even sleep together in one room. I also liked Julie from the first glance and must confess it really bears a strong resemblance to granny. It is very calm, smart and humble. Julie enjoys spending time with the grandpa and almost never barks.
After some time, on a day when the family gathered again to celebrate grandmothers seventy-eighth birthday, grandpa decided to reveal a secret to us. “Children,” he said in a trembling voice. “Once, your granny and I were talking about eternal things: life, death, love Some of you may think I am a crazy old man, but believe in every single thing I am going to say now.” His hands were shaking as he was patting Julie on the head. “We agreed that we will not leave each other even after the death. And if something horrible will happen to one of us we will find any way to meet again in any guise or shape on that our favorite bench, our place where I saw her, my angel, for the very first time and immediately decided that she is the one” The tears were streaming down his face. “the one and only. And the day I noticed Julie I had not a drop of doubt and hesitation that it was she.” After a short pause he continued. “So, children, I am begging you to open your young hearts to faith and love. Please, remember that the life you live now is given to each of you in order to improve your personality and pave the way to your next life. Karma exists.” He smiled through tears. “Just look at Julie.” And the dog began howling. Each member of a family came up to Julie and hugged or kissed her. The speech touched my sore spot, it made me believe.
That very moment I reconsidered my life, my actions and my relations with people. Such a close similarity between my granny and Julie made me believe in reincarnation. The core is that karma is a law of cause and effect. The way you behave in this life has an influence on you next one. That is why I try to fight with my own disadvantages and be a better person – more patient, tolerant and kind. I really hope to find such a strong love as my grandparents still have.