Choices

By Valorie Cunningham

A novel of the passage of a soul through successive lives: a child inflicted with Down's syndrome, a child horribly maimed in a civil war, a cocaine addict, a soldier forced to perform ethnic cleansing. A journey of happiness and hope, suffering and pain, repentance and forgiveness finally culminating in the revelation of Life's Ultimate Purpose.


Book Review: Through history lives are intertwined with each other, through one generation to the next. "Choices" tells the story of a series of families as their lives go from the civil war to modern ethnic cleansing in the sadder portions of the world. In the quest for purpose in life, "Choices" tells the story of trying to make one's own, and author Valorie Cunningham does well in letting those stories out.

John Burroughs
Reviewer
Midwest Book Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 16, 2009
• ISBN: 9781450002288

Valorie Cunningham

Valorie Cunningham lives in British Columbia, Canada. She works as a physician. Along with her husband and three children, her loves are music and nature.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009 by Valorie Cunningham.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009911244

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4415-9233-0

Softcover 978-1-4415-9232-3

Ebook 978-1-4500-0228-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

—Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

I have just left my human form and have arrived at The Between. The others here are like myself, between lives. We have no specific distinguishing features as souls shed their earthly human faces with death. Our forms are faceless and genderless. We exist as separate entities of energy.

As I move into The Between, I feel the memories of all my previous lives rush back to me. Those previous experiences are locked away when we are reborn in human form. We begin each new life as infants with no memories; to accumulate new experiences as we progress along that life’s journey.

The appearance of The Between is always changing though it has real form and shape. This time, The Between is like an old train station. The floor appears wooden and well-worn. The walls, however, are indistinct. It is as if they exist only in my peripheral vision, for when I try to look directly at them, they disappear into a haze. The ceiling and walls are like a background painted with a faint wash of color.

There is light. One gleaming metal lantern hangs from the indistinct ceiling; however, it is not the light source. The light seems to emanate from everywhere. There are no shadows here.

There is no sound except for a faint, indescribable music. It is not music made by earthly instruments or human voices, but rather, the joyous sounds of all of nature combined to make a sound so perfect and profound it resonates with the soul. The sound is everywhere and beautiful. It flows around and through me. It fills me with Peace and Joy.

I am sitting on an old well-worn wooden bench. There is one row behind me, and facing me, there are two more. Other souls are scattered about, some sitting on the benches, others standing apart. There is no conversation between us. We all sit or stand in quiet contemplation.

We come to The Between to see The One. The One always appears in solid form although with a different human face and appearance. The One has now taken the human form of a robust older man. He has wrinkled white skin and wispy long white hair. He has bright blue eyes and an engaging, toothy smile. He is dressed in a white-collared shirt and black pants. He has a silver watch chain hanging from his pocket. He is wearing a small black visor.

I don’t even know if The One or The Between appear the same to all the souls here. Perhaps the train station is only for my benefit, and others perceive it as something different. Perhaps the appearance of The One as a ticket master is for me alone. No matter what form The One takes, He always radiates intense, profound Love.

In my earthly life, I had glimpses of radiant Love. At a wedding, as the bride and groom joyfully look at each other, you can see them radiate Love to one another. When I’ve watched a mother nestling her child on her lap, I’ve seen the Love radiate from her to her child. Here, The One radiates Love to all and with palpable, unearthly intensity.

He is sitting at a small table with a small table lamp on one corner. The lamp is casting a warm yellow glow on the desk. There is nothing on the desk except the hands of The One, which are folded upon it. The One is relaxed and smiling. There is another soul seated in front of Him. The soul is leaning forward over the desk in earnest conversation with The One. Time means little in this place. I wait patiently, contemplating my last human experience. When it is my turn, The One beckons me over.

He motions me to sit in front of him and smiles, sitting back in his own chair. I feel secure and at peace. So, My Child, He begins, tell me of your last experience.

As I take my chair across from Him, His intense Love is directed at me. The intensity of it unsettles me for an instant. The experience of this kind of Love I have only had in The Between. It is as if the soul, once bound in human form, is unable to experience Love at this level.

It was a good life. I elaborated, I had a happy, secure childhood. I met my mate to share the rest of my life with. We had three children. Watching them grow up and mature was a wonderful experience. The youngest child was a challenge. We alternatively cried, laughed, and screamed as he grew up.

So, The One inquired, what did you learn from this last lifetime?

I paused for thought. I found my life really revolved around my children. The youngest was a trial. He was messed up in all kinds of things. It seemed he moved from disaster to disaster, and each time, we had to jump in and rescue him. This was the greatest challenge. At times, I wondered why I did it. Why didn’t I just let him go his own way and dig himself out of his self-made holes?

So why didn’t you leave him to learn his own lessons? questioned The One.

I couldn’t seem to help myself. I replied, I Loved him.

Even when he was ungrateful and unappreciative of your efforts? pressed The One.

Of course.

He sat back and smiled, hands folded on his lap, appearing content. "This was your lesson in this last life. Unconditional Love, Love that doesn’t expect anything, not even Love in return. It is the first, most important lesson for your soul. Unconditional Love is one of the first steps on your path to Enlightenment. The whole of the human condition is designed to develop this early lesson.

"The human child is born completely helpless. It cannot even brush away a fly that lands on its nose. It is completely dependent upon its parents to provide it with nourishment and protection. It must be carried. It must be held in a mother’s arms to nurse. The babe cries if left unattended and settles only in the arms of someone who cares for it. A year it takes to learn to walk, two years to speak. Its parents must teach and guide it until it is ready to leave and go into the world and learn its own lessons.

Other animals may also be born helpless. A sparrow takes a few weeks to grow to fledge, but the human may take sixteen years or more. All those years of development serve as an opportunity for the parents to solidify their Love for that child. They don’t realize how strong their Love is until such times as they are tested. That is part of The Purpose.

So The Purpose of that life was for me to learn this lesson? I wondered.

Sometimes, said The One, smiling, My Purpose for your life is for the benefit of you, and sometimes it is for the benefit of others. For the young souls, experiences may be easy, lessons simple. He paused. What do you think? Do you feel you are ready for a different experience?

I pondered a while. Yes, Father, I said with confidence, I am ready.

My Purpose for you in this next life is to be my instrument. This time you will be the child who teaches this lesson of Unconditional Love. He smiled again as He raised his hand.

*     *     *

The pregnancy had been difficult. The sickness in early pregnancy had sapped her of her strength, later to be replaced with fatigue and swelling. The last three weeks she had been restricted to bed by the midwives. Now, the trial was to come to an end. This was her first pregnancy, and despite the difficulties, she was proud to be bearing a child for her husband.

Every contraction left her gasping and bathed in sweat. Time slowed, and she found herself in a fog of shifting memories. She remembered the first time she met her husband. She was a daughter of an innkeeper, and he was the new master of a great estate. He had been renting a room in the inn. She had been serving customers during the busy dinner hour. As she placed his meal in front of him, he had thanked her. The unexpected courtesy made her stop and look at his face, and their eyes met. He stared into her eyes until she blushed and turned away. From then on, she found herself searching for him during his stay, and when her eyes found him, her heart would flutter, and her breath would catch.

They encountered each other in likely places in the inn and in the town, seemingly by coincidence. He seemed to eagerly strike up conversation with her. Once, he met her at the well and helped her draw the water. After she politely thanked him and turned to leave, he caught her hand and pressed it to his lips. She remembered how she stood, hardly breathing, with her heart in her eyes.

This encounter had been witnessed by her father who sternly took her aside. She was not to embarrass the family by becoming a rich man’s plaything. She was to stay away from him until he concluded his business in town. She was restricted to her room until her lover left.

It was several weeks later that he returned. He had knocked on her family’s private door and entered while the family was finishing their meal. He had asked for her. Her father had stubbornly refused, asking for what purpose such a man would have for his daughter. He then announced