Reincarnation Blues

My potential past lives, Michael Poore, and the idea of "perfection"

I just finished a book a few days ago entitled “Reincarnation Blues” and I enjoyed it so much that I felt like I needed a place to lay down all of the thoughts I have after reading it. So here we go…

I should point out that this is not a book review…I’m not just going to tell you about the book and spoil everything and I am in no way sponsored (though I would love to be please call me thank you) by Michael Poore or anyone affiliated with this novel. That being said, before I just randomly start talking about reincarnation I feel I must at least somewhat describe the premise of the read.

Reincarnation Blues is about Milo, who I believe in the first chapter of the book gets eaten by a shark. (this is a great book) As he enters the afterlife he is greeted by Suzie, who is Death, and also his lover…as well as two “angels” (but they aren’t really angels but also they kind of are) who basically inform him that he keeps messing up his life. The main idea is that every soul has exactly 10,000 human/earthly lives to live for them to reach “perfection”, and to travel to the Oversoul, which is essentially Heaven. And if they cannot achieve perfection within that span of 10,000 earthly lives, then their soul disappears. After Milo gets consumed by the shark, he’s on his 9,996th life, still yet to reach perfection. And the novel documents his last 4 or 5 lives (I can’t remember which) in his pursuit of “perfection”. (Side note: the book also occasionally and briefly documents his other past lives, which include men, women, a tree, bugs and other creatures, etc… Essentially, if you live a really good life, you come back as a “better” or “more high on the food chain” species. Where as if you live a poor life, you come back as an ant)

It’s funny and also very sad and pretty dark at times, but mostly it’s very thought provoking. I’ve been thinking a lot about how close or far I am from “perfection”, and what are the things keeping me from living a “perfect” life? I keep “perfect” in parentheses because it’s not literally a perfect life, that’s impossible. We are all always learning and making mistakes and it’s not realistic for anyone to actually be perfect. “Perfection” in this sense relates more to the difference you made in your life, the legacy you leave when you pass away, and how you are remembered…as well as the true intentions of your actions in your heart, no matter how successful or unsuccessful they may be.

It’s also made me ponder what past lives maybe I could have lived…which is a pretty fun thing to do and I suggest you try it. Here are a few that I came up with:

Eastern Cottontail

I’ve concluded that at some point in time it’s likely I was a rabbit in a past life. Not a domesticated house rabbit, but rather a wild rabbit roaming some American neighborhood. I specifically have reason to believe that I was an Eastern Cottontail. I probably lived a somewhat poor life and came back downgraded as a rabbit, and therefore had to prove myself to have the chance at coming back as another human. It was imperative that I had a great rabbit life. In my adulthood I’ve grown to eat more and more salads, and find myself craving green food if I go too long without it, so the rabbit makes sense in that they are herbivores and mostly indulge in leafy greens. (I think it’s also likely I was a giraffe at one point but I haven’t been able to flesh out the details of that life past the fact that I’m tall and skinny and also like vegetables so a giraffe just makes sense. However, the Eastern Cottontail had more of a journey fleshed out in my head so I want with it instead)