Old Souls

Have you ever noticed that there are people in this world who possess what we term “wisdom beyond their years?” These people seem to be born with profound knowledge and an awareness of the deeper workings of existence. They go through life with a certainty of knowing that we cannot explain. We say about them that they have been here before, or that they are “old souls”. It is a joy to meet these people, for they bring a new perspective, new lessons and different experiences to us.

My daughter Victoria has often been described as an old soul. She is so wise, so insightful, seeming to possess knowledge not of this earth, but from some other place and time. When she was younger, she would spout some prism of knowledge, and I would ask her where she learned that. She would shrug her shoulders and reply “I just know”.

I don’t ask her that question anymore, for her response was a reminder to me of the source of knowledge – it is not in books, in schools, on the Internet, in others. The true source of knowledge is deep within us; it is the source of everything – it exists within us as our Higher Self. What this means is that each and every one of us has access to all the knowledge of the universe. None are more favoured than others. Old souls know this. They seem favoured, smart, bright – and they are, not because they are anything more than anyone else, but simply because they have opened to their innate, inner wisdom. Old souls are here to accelerate our journey, to jerk us out of our unconsicous, conditioned way of being, to remind us of the truth of who we are.

“Out of the mouths of babes” is uttered in wonder and amazement when a child speaks a fundamental, profound truth. This is a reminder that wisdom has little to do with earth years. Our life’s journey is about opening to the lessons that everyone has come to teach us. If we believe that only our elders, wise old men and scholars can teach us, if we get hung up on qualifications and certification, then we are cutting ourselves off from other fonts of knowledge in the form of babes and old souls. Their wisdom is fresh, piercing, to the point. It is uncluttered by societal norms and baggage. It strikes right to the heart of the matter. It tends to be “no holds barred”. It is often difficult for us to accept, and may seem to us precocious, even offensive. That perception is born of our conditioning which has us believe that only certain people can teach us, that younger people (in earth years) don’t know as much as we do, that the accumulation of knowledge is linear, indeed that knowledge is something that we gather and accumulate, rather than just something that exists.

I give thanks for the “old souls” in my life. It is a joy to share this journey with them. They remind me that time is a human concept, that this life is but a part of eternality, that all knowledge and knowing is already present for each and everyone of us, that we all can tap into it at any time regardless of age, schooling, gender, class – it is there for all of us.