“ I hate school!” Anna declared as she burst into the kitchen where her mother, Sylvia, was preparing dinner.

Sylvia looked up from the carrots she was slicing to see that her daughter’s face was flushed with anger. “Why don’t you tell me about it,” she coaxed as she reached up to stroke Anna’s head.

I’ve had the worst day ever,” Anna began. “First I failed my math test, then at recess Jessica and her gang made fun of my clothes. I wish I didn’t have to go to school.”

“Aren’t you lucky to know what you don’t like,” said Sylvia.

Anna looked puzzled. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Knowing what you don’t like is an important part of being alive,” answered Sylvia.  “It gives you an opportunity to learn and grow.  If you don’t like something, you may be able to change it.  If you can’t change it, you can change how you feel about it.”

“You always make problems sound so simple,” Anna grumbled.  “I don’t want to change how I feel about the fact that school is hard for me or that I am not as pretty as Jessica.”

“What if you were to see those problems as a disguise that you planned to wear before you were born?” challenged Sylvia.

Now Anna was really confused.  “What are you talking about?  What do you mean by disguise?” she asked.

“Let’s imagine that just before you were born, you had a planning meeting with God.  The conversation may have gone something like this:”

“Hey God, my soul wants to know how it feels to grow and be really alive.  I want to have challenges that I can overcome.  I want to be a creative light for others.

God laughed and said, “OK, that can be arranged, but first you’ll need a disguise.”

“What’s a disguise?” you asked.

A disguise hides the fact that you are really perfect,” explained God, “because everything that exists is perfect.  Without your disguise, you would never need to change anything, and that could get boring.  You don’t want a boring life, do you?”

“No way!” you exclaimed.  “I want an exciting life full of joy and changes and growth.”

“I thought so,” chuckled God, “so we will have to choose your disguise very carefully.  But there is something you need to understand before we begin.”  God looked more serious now.

“What’s that?” you asked, looking a bit worried.

“To design a life of growth you will need to wear a disguise that you will want to change.  This means that you will not feel good about some things about your disguise,” answered God.

“Like what?” you wondered.

“Well, that depends on what you want to experience,” God replied.  “For example, we both know that every soul that exists is a genius; it could be a challenge to remember that fact if you learned differently from others.  You would have to believe in yourself even if no one else did.”

“I would love that challenge!” you said.  “What else?”

God answered, “You might want to experience being rejected by some souls simply because of the way you look.  You could feel hurt until you remembered that you are perfect and loved just as you are.”

“How would that disguise look?” you wondered.

“It could take many forms,” said God.  “There are disguises that you could not change, such as the colour of your skin, your height, how attractive your physical features are, and even how many toes you have on your left foot!”

Laughing, you asked, “What about disguises I could change?”

God answered the question with a question: “What are the things that souls can change about their bodies?”

“Oh, I know!” you said.  “If I was not happy about being fat, skinny, weak, uncoordinated, or even addicted to a drug, I could do something about it because I would remember that it was merely a disguise that I chose!”

“Exactly,” agreed God.  “Now, what about illnesses and injuries?”

“What do you mean?” you questioned. “Are they disguises too?”

“Absolutely,” stated God.  “Injuries and illnesses are an opportunity to recall that the natural state of a body is wellness.  A disease is merely a sign of ‘dis-ease’ or imbalance that can be restored at any time.”

You were amazed.  “Are you saying that souls can heal themselves?”

God smiled.  “The only true healing is self-healing.  Nobody gets well until they allow wellness back into their body.  How they choose to heal is less important than the fact that they are prepared to heal.”

“Wow!” you exclaimed.  “I can’t wait to get started!”

“That’s great,” God said, “but I want you to consider one more thing.”

“What’s that?” you asked, feeling a little impatient.

“We have only talked about disguises that feel uncomfortable,” God began.  “What about disguises that feel good?”

This time it was your turn to answer a question with a question: “Do you mean that it is also a disguise to be rich, pretty or smart?”

“By George, I’ve think you’ve got it,” laughed God.  “And what could be the experience of those disguises?”

“I guess that a soul could know how it feels to be generous and kind to souls who are wearing disguises of suffering,” you answered, smiling at your own wisdom.

God also smiled.  “Now I know that you have got it.  Shall we design your disguise?”

“Oh, yes please,” you replied.  “How do we begin?”

“First, you must decide what you wish to experience,” said God.  “Then we will devise the perfect disguise.”

You rubbed your hands together in glee.  “Okay.  I want to remember that I am a genius even though I appear slow.  And I want to show my genius in math as a girl.”

“That’s a great challenge,” commented God.  “Would you like to add coloured skin to that disguise?”

“No, thank you,” you said politely.  “I am not seeking such an experience right now.  But I would like the challenge of poverty so that I could choose to feel happiness without many material comforts.”

“Check,” God replied.  “What about weight or health issues?”

You though for a moment and answered, “I would like a body that is average in size, and I only want illness if I forget that it is natural to be healthy.”

“Consider it done,” said God.  “Anything else?”

“Surprise me,” you teased.

“I love your spunk,” God chuckled.  “Are you ready?”

“Absolutely,” you said, raising your arms.  “Look out world, here I come!”

Anna laughed.  “And then I was born?” she asked.

“And then you were born,” Sylvia confirmed.  “Any questions?”

“Just one,” said Anna as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, “How did God find me such a perfect mother?”

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