You were on your way home when you died.

And that’s when you met me.

What… what happened? Where am I?

You died, I said, matter-of-factly.

There was a… a truck and it was skidding…

I… I died?

Yes. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. What is this place? Is this the afterlife?

More or less.

Are you god?

Yes, I’m God.

My kids… my wife...

What about them?

Will they be all right?

That’s what I like to see. You just died and your main concern is for your family.

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe.

Don’t worry They’ll be fine

Oh, So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?

Neither, I said. You’ll be reincarnated.

You followed along as we strode through the void. Where are we going?

Nowhere in particular, I said. it’s just nice to walk while we talk.

So what’s the point, then? When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.

Not so! You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives.

Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are.

You’ve been in a human for the last years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness.

How many times have I been reincarnated, then?

Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.

Wait, what? You’re sending me back in time?

Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.

Where you come from?

Oh sure, I explained I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.

Oh, you said, a little let down. But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.

Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.

So what’s the point of it all?

Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life?

Well it’s a reasonable question, you persisted.

The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.

You mean mankind? You want us to mature?

No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.

Just me? What about everyone else?

There is no one else, I said. In this universe, there’s just you and me.

You stared blankly at me. But all the people on earth…

All you. Different incarnations of you.

Wait. I’m everyone!?

Now you’re getting it, I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

I’m every human being who ever lived?

Or who will ever live, yes.

I’m Abraham Lincoln?

And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too.

I’m Hitler? You said, appalled.

And you’re the millions he killed.

I’m Jesus?

And you’re everyone who followed him.

You fell silent.

Every time you victimized someone, you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.

You thought for a long time.

Why? Why do all this?

Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.

Whoa, You mean I’m a god?

Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing.

So the whole universe, it’s just…

An egg. Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.

And I sent you on your way.