A few idle ramblings from a Sunday afternoon; jotted down before, after, between, and during the hockey game, the Oscars, and Heroes:

A rebuttal for the next time an angst-ridden teen whines, “It’s not fair - I didn’t ask to be born!” What if we did ask to be born?

What if there's a universe full of souls with no corporeal existence.

What if these souls float around observing other universes, but can’t participate? -- Kind of like Nicholas Cage in City of Angels before he decides to become mortal so he can touch Meg Ryan; except these souls don’t even have an angel body like Nicholas Cage; which was invisible to people on earth, but a real body to his fellow angels; which is why you know it is Nicholas Cage, in the first place.

Okay. So what if these souls get bored just floating around observing , thinking, not really doing anything; and since they don’t have bodies and all, there’s nothing to wear out, so they last forever; and with the prospect of their lives stretching out for untold millennia; at some point, they start questioning their existence. How did we get here? Is this all there is? What’s it all about, Alfie?

Various theories are proposed, philosophies developed, groups of like-minded souls gather to discuss (not in the talking sense, mind you – more like thought waves or telepathy, I guess) the meaning of life. Some think it’s silly to believe anything beyond their current existence. Others think that, surely, there’s something beyond their wavery existence. Every soul has heard rumours of those who’ve gone to the “beyond”, never to return. It’s never been proven, of course, because they all wander so far and for so long that there are lots of souls who’ve never passed the same slipstream, let alone met each other. How would a soul know if another one was missing? The debate goes on forever.

When, lo and behold! What’s this? Three souls stumble upon a universe with rather interesting creatures on one of the planets. Something unique. The creatures move around, albeit clumsily, on their little planet; but more impressively, every day is different for them. How refreshing, think the three souls. If only we could experience what they’re experiencing.

Millennia pass. The planet becomes a closely guarded secret of the first three. They collectively develop a soul-shield to block others from accidentally finding it. They don’t want just any old soul wandering in, making stupid observations and spoiling it for them.

One day or month or year later, one of the souls (let’s call him Soul-zero or Soul-0 for short) gets a little too close to a four-legged creature just as it gives birth. Suddenly, Soul-0 has four legs and a tail. Intense sensations and experiences flash through its consciousness - so quickly, they barely register. Then it’s over. Wow, what a rush!

Over the next while there is much discussion about this phenomenon. Soul-0 thinks it’s a sign from something Other. Maybe a sign from the Outer Limits. They decide to experiment with other creatures on the planet. They soon discover that the longest, most intense experiences occur with the two-legged ones. The souls even retain some memories of their trips inside these creatures; memories of sensations they can't recreate back in their bodiless selves. They all agree it’s a life-altering experience.

Soul-0 thinks it proves there is meaning outside their usual existence; that it's their destiny to look after this planet and its creatures; that the soul-shield must stay up and keep unworthy souls out. However, Soul-0’s soulfriends think it’s unethical for them not to share this with other souls. After much debate, they decide they can’t keep it to themselves any longer. It must be shared, but they must develop a way to control the comings and goings of other souls.

To make a long story short, they develop a lottery system for other souls from their universe to be re-born and experience life on planet Earth in a corporeal body. A win could be anything from a brief tsetse fly blink; to a life of sloth as a sloth; or the Big Win: a short to long, bad-good life as a human being.

That's how one asks to be born.

So how was your Sunday?