Everyone Is You

My dad majored in rocket science.

He studied hard on a full scholarship and ended up quitting half way through because he "didn't want to be an astronaut anymore." Despite the fact that he now works for a power-line company, he still graduated with such a degree, so I have the privilege of telling people my dad is a rocket scientist.

He tells my brother and I about a lot of these…theories. I'm not sure where he gets them, but they always make my head hurt. Most of them involve the universe, or time, or paradoxes. I'm going to write about one.

Everyone around you is also you.

Imagine this: every time you die, you're reincarnated. I'm sure you've heard this theory before ("you die and then you're reborn again!") but this is somewhat different. Assume that you're born in the year 2001. You live a long, happy life and then you die in the year 2080.

You're reincarnated. You're born again, as someone else, in the year 2000 (yeah, you went "back in time"). You live a long, happy life – through the year 2001 – up until the year 2080.

Wait! That would mean that there are two versions of "you" on the planet AT THE SAME TIME! What if they meet each other? What if they see each other? Would they know?

Pretend you live out this life (the one from 2000) and then you die again. You're reborn in 2002 and live until 2080.

Maybe you see where I'm going with this. If this cycle has repeated over and over and over…there could be a lot of versions of you on one planet. Maybe 12% of the world is made up of reincarnated you's.

Maybe you've walked down the sidewalk and made eye contact with someone you "didn't know," maybe you thought: cool, hey. Kept walking. But maybe that person used to be you. Maybe that person is who you'll become after you die.

Think about this: If it happened millions and millions of times…wouldn't that mean that everyone around you could be another version of yourself? Think about it. Perhaps you are everyone. Perhaps every time you die, you go back in time and start over as a new person. Perhaps you've lived millions of lives as other people that you don't remember. Maybe you are Albert Einstein and Beyoncé and Donald Trump. Maybe you are everybody.

It's sort of a difficult concept to think about, but try it. Then look around you and study someone else's face. Think: have I been here before?

The idea makes you feel peculiarly lonely. Technically, by these standards, you're alone. You are the single being that exists on Earth, and all people are made up of your being.

Everyone is you.

Emma told me to add this picture.
Courtesy of High School Musical