Growing

I’ve read recently that some people believe in past lives. The soul has traveled through time using different vessels, the body, as a means of learning all that it can. Furthermore many people believe that the soul chooses its parents before birth of the child. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the parents are good for the soul, but rather that the soul chooses who it feels it needs to learn from. Also the free will of the parents can still abuse, cause pain, and harm but the soul chose based on a level of intelligence we can’t understand in this world. I can’t say that I believe in this fully if at all, but it intrigues me. If I put myself in this belief, why did I choose the parents that I have? I love my parents and I feel especially close to my mother, no matter how much I sometimes think otherwise, but what can I learn from my father? I feel that I have spent a large portion of my life resenting his actions (or lack of them) and have told myself many times that the only thing he has given me, that isn’t financial, is a desire to never be a parent like him. Now, contemplating my souls choosing, I wonder if there are things I’ve missed out on due to my own prejudices and hurt feelings. Not that a lack of commitment on his part isn’t a valid reason for me to be angry and distance myself, but if I am to ever forgive him I must see the good and see what he, as a human and a father, has to offer. I’m determined to try harder.