Fact: Every person on this earth comes here by the same means. We are conceived, and we are born. If those two steps didn't happen, we wouldn't be here.
So, we might ask ourselves, "Why am I here?" And the answer is, "Because you were born." Anyone can ask all the questions they want. In the case of an adopted person like myself, the question can also be, "Why was the egg fertilized?" Why wasn't I aborted?" Or after the fact, "Why wasn't I dropped only to die in the proverbial dumpster behind the ratty restaurant?" OR, "Was my bio mom forced to give me up?" And on and on.
You may have asked similar questions of the Universe, or maybe you haven't. If not, it's okay. One can say a person who didn't have a home for a while has more cause to make inquiries of this nature. Maybe children who still don't have a home ask these questions on a weekly, daily, or hourly basis. Mostly it's part of being human. We want to know, and it's been going on for quite a while! The following quote is widely attributed to Socrates who lived c. 470-399 BCE. "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Perhaps folks had more time to think about such things back then. Fast forward to a more recent Mark Twain (1835-1910) quotation. He said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why." [Photo attributed to Terry Ballard]
Pondering the imponderable may seem like a waste of time, but contemplating the chances for being one of the over seven billion souls on the planet at this time lends a perspective that strives to attach clarity to our lives. I can only come up with the following:
"I am here for a reason."
This piece is not for or against abortion. Nor is it specifically a piece about adoption. Our beginnings whenever and wherever we started can be parsed a zillion different ways.
My quest stems from my adoption. Other folks--who by another quirk of fate are born into some semblance of a family-- may not think about it as much. Having gone to a foster home (I have the letters from my foster mom) means I had a 'family' for a while. Then I was released to my adopted parents. And an adopted brother. I didn't know what was going on. Or did I? But after all was said and done, the fortunate experience of being in my adopted family was maybe similar to being in other families. We celebrated holidays; we had some good times and some not-so-good times. Highs and lows. Dress up games and teenage angst. I had aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins--the whole bit.
This article is more a quest for deciding why one makes it through conception. Why am I here? Why now?
Why was I not aborted? Why was I not left by the side of the road?
It's because I am here for a reason.
So are you.
And now I want to make sure I follow what Mark Twain says. I need to "find out why."