EACH LIFE HAS ITS PLACE
by Leslie Karen Lobell, M.A.

The song, "Virginia Woolf" written by Emily Saliers and performed by the Indigo Girls really touched my life. It speaks of a young woman, reading the diary of Virginia Woolf, who feels as if she is "on a kind of telephone line through time" speaking with a long lost friend. This young woman feels she has received a letter to her soul. She realizes she is alright: her life would come, and it would go, but her life, like each life, has its place. She continues…
 
"…And so it was for you when the river eclipsed your life But sent your soul like a message in a bottle to me And it was my rebirth So we know it's alright, life will come and life will go Still we know its alright, someone will get a message to your soul Then you know it's alright, and you feel it's alright… … Each life has its place"
 
I saw the Indigo Girls a few times on their tour to promote their recording "Rites of Passage." Yet, I STILL was not prepared for what would happen to me one evening when I went with a friend from graduate school to see them, once again, in concert. The last song they played before taking a break was "Virginia Woolf." As I was listening, something hit me so strong, like a ZING to my heart. I started to sob. I was still crying when my friend and I walked out to the lobby for intermission. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned about me. Through my tears, all I could manage to get out was, "If I could write ONE song like that, then I'd know that my life would have been worthwhile!"
 
I needed to believe the words: "each life has its place." I needed to know that MY life would have its place. I needed meaning. I needed a reason for my life. My life would come, and my life would go. But I wanted to leave something behind: something that could send a message to the soul of another human being, perhaps even centuries later. In that one moment, listening to that song, I became desperately aware of my need to touch this world somehow, and leave a legacy behind.
 
I certainly am not the first person to feel this way. Perhaps all of us, somehow, are seeking meaning. Many of us long for immortality. Leaving a legacy is one way for us to become immortalized. People create legacies in different ways. Some become parents: They bear children, pass on their genes, they may even pass on their wisdom, and it is through their children that they leave a legacy behind. Some people need to build something physical, like a skyscraper or a cathedral, to leave their legacy. Authors leave their books and articles. Songwriters leave their lyrics. Most of us try to leave something "concrete" behind.
 
However, it is unnecessary to leave behind something concrete in order to leave a legacy. What gives our lives meaning, I believe, is how we touch the lives of others. Unless we choose to live in complete isolation, we all touch the lives of other people constantly. Every interaction we have, even for the briefest moment, is an exchange of energy: it is an opportunity to affect another person either in a positive way or in a negative way. Often, we are completely unaware of the ways in which we touch or affect others. Yet we do… all the time.
 
We do not always know why we are here, how we can fulfill our destiny, or what will give our lives meaning. Perhaps you were put on this Earth for the one moment that you chose to smile at a stranger passing by. A small gesture, yes. However, it is possible that that stranger was feeling utterly alone and in the depths of despair, and, unbeknownst to you, that one act of kindness, that moment of connection, influenced that person to choose to live another day… You may wonder, "What possible meaning could there be for the life of a beggar on the street?" Perhaps that beggar was put there to teach one person to feel compassion… Even the newborn child who dies during childbirth touches the lives of a mother, relatives, and friends. That child may be teaching those around him or her about love, loss, and the preciousness of life.
 
We cannot always know which of our actions will help us to fulfill our purpose for being on this planet. All that we can do is to do our best. We can try to remain aware and to affect the lives of others in a positive way, by smiling more often and sending good energy out to those we encounter in our daily lives. Through it all, maybe we just need simply to trust the words, "Each life has its place." Trust this. YOUR life has its place. May you make that discovery with joy.
 
Copyright ©2000 by Leslie Lobell
 

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