Within the past couple of days, one word has repeatedly appeared in conversation – placeholder. As I witnessed the repetition of this term, my mind started paying attention to its meaning or alternative meanings. The online dictionaries define it as “words that can refer to objects or people, whose names are unknown or irrelevant” or “a symbol in a mathematical or logical expression that may be replaced by the name of any element of a set.” I began wondering why this felt so significant to me. And then I knew!
First, some background is in order. The first conscious awareness of this word’s importance was at my place of work, regarding the holding of a spot on a website so that documents could later be inserted in the proper order. Next, as my husband and I were reflecting on our recent house move, leaving one home of two years to return to where we’ve lived for over 20 years, it seemed as if the temporary residence never even happened. It was rather a surreal adventure. We were just a “placeholder,” occupying the address until the next residents arrived at the house we no longer desired. We had appreciated our time there; life was full and active. We grew in consciousness, maturity and wisdom. Then it was time to move on, literally. Finally, as I prepare to leave my job and return to a self-employment venture, I anxiously await news that a successor will soon follow and assume my role and duties.
It occurs to me that we could view our human bodies, our earthly lives, as placeholders, too. Not in the sense of being irrelevant or to be replaced by any element, but as placeholders for our souls. We occupy a role, name or persona that suits us for a time, until a change is accepted, perhaps unwillingly at times. We fill this earthly form for several decades then release it to dust and make a space for those who follow.
Spirit–God or Life Force– lives in and through us to experience this existence as we choose to be in it. The unseen energy or intuition guides us, if we pay attention to it. We are born, grow up, work, play, love and move through Life at whatever pace we prefer or allow. When one experience ends, no matter how long we’ve been expressing in that capacity, another begins…we move on. We are as significant as we desire or imagine ourselves to be. We are placeholders for God in that each of us is a unique expression of the Divine, living and learning and sharing our lessons until it is time to voyage onward.
The important thing is that, while we are here, in whatever place or way we live, we hold the highest and best consciousness for ourselves and the world. We grow our lives right where we’re planted until we hear the call to move on…whether that be to a new home, new job, new relationship, or new form of being. Everything in this physical realm is temporary. Only the Life that fills our bodies and energizes our soul is eternal. The fact that we exist, you and I, is evidence enough that Spirit is holding our place in line for the next great adventure.