Eternal Life, Part 5
Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
We, particularly in the West, are obsessed with individualism – individual accomplishments, individual differences, and arguably worst of all: individual salvation. As a product of my culture, I am no exception. After seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show as a child, I wanted to write and perform music and have people revere me as an individual for my unique abilities. And remnants of that egotistical desire stubbornly linger. It is not that developing one’s distinct capabilities is bad or evil, but specialness is not a stable foundation upon which to build one’s identity. Exceptionalism is transitory.
Our looks, talents, profession, and social standing are all ego-related and will not survive our physical death. In fact, the potency of those traits fades long before we die anyway. Jesus was more eloquent and direct: Do not store up for yourself treasures on (or of the) earth. Treasures of the earth are impermanent, being subject to the decay inherent to all earthly things. And they are subject to being stolen or usurped by the ego-expressions of others. The defining characteristics we value and identify with in adolescence and early adulthood are useful in establishing a sense of what we have to offer others and in identifying a purpose for our existence. But as we age, if what we value continues to be that which sets us apart, aging will become an increasingly difficult and lonely journey.
If our earthly endeavors and accomplishments do not survive to an eternal existence, what does? Our true self, or our soul, is the eternal aspect of us that was not born and will never die. It is sometimes called the witness because it is that in us that witnesses whenour mind races with a thousand disheveled thoughts. When we engage in physical or emotional violence, the witness knows we are perpetuating the violence. As our bodies age and our physical and mental abilities decline, the witness remains aloof to and immune from our aging process. It knows itself to be more mature than our years when we are young and remains full of vitality as we grow old. The witness has access to the accumulated wisdom from the origins of creation because it is eternal. The witness is transgenerational and adds to its wisdom stores from our experiences on earth. The witness attempts to provide an eternal perspective for our daily lives, but we are seldom listening.
The eternal witness may transmit its wisdom through sacred writings, intimate interactions, or as a still, small voice that occasionally breaks through our internal chatter. It communicates as intuition, in dreams, or as a gut-feeling that something is important or true in the absence of concrete evidence. The witness in us just knows. It communicates more through the ordinary than the extraordinary. We are most receptive to noticing the witness as we age and/or when we find ourselves in situations where the rules of life we thought we knew no longer hold – the death of a loved one, a terminal diagnosis, a voice that can no longer sing in tune. Suddenly, we no longer know who we are or why we are here because the foundation for our identity has been stripped from us. It happens because the earthly treasures and attachments we allowed to define who we are changed.
Our internal witness is eternally and incomprehensibly One with God and everything in creation across time and space. This foundational part of the life we call ours is not God, but it is not separate from God either. The closer we align our conscious awareness to that of the witness, the closer we become aligned with everyone and everything around us. And the more clearly we see how our circumstances and experiences are intricately and inseparably woven together with everything else. We only fear annihilation at death because we treasure the transient attachments that will be separated from us at death instead of identifying with that which transcends annihilation. In the end, only the illusion of ourselves as separate, independent beings will be annihilated.
This is the 34th in a series of Life Notes on Time and Eternity. The opinions expressed are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.
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