CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #472
I believe in reincarnation. Not in the traditional sense. My feeling is that I have lived many different lives within this lifetime. I've also observed that each new incarnation came about after a period of intense physical and/or emotional pain. In other words, just like childbirth, it hurts to be born. Or reborn. A lot of crying happens. Death, illness, poverty, divorce, giving up a dream, waking up from a dream, getting fired, divorce again, substance abuse, being publicly ridiculed by a former friend - all these things led to rebirth. To new lives.
The Buddha taught that change and impermanence is a fundamental fact of existence. He further point out that this fact made suffering inevitable. He didn't mention that sometimes, after the pain is gone, you open your eyes to a life beyond your wildest dreams. That's what happened to me. But I know that this too shall pass. There's a cosmic uterus up ahead, I just can't see it yet.