Your Spirit or Soul - Where and When Does it Go?

On my drive back from Detroit to Chicago, I stopped at the beach.  I knew the beach would be empty and I needed the solitude to relax, think, let go emotionally,  and reflect on the losses I had endured that week.  I thought about my "theory" that my grandmother (who preceded my mother in death by three days) foresaw my mother's future health predicaments and decided that she wasn't going to let that happen and intervened on her behalf.

That thought led to my wondering what the Jewish thought was on how, where and when the soul returns to G-d.  More than anything, I wished that I could know if the two of them were really together; if they were still physically close somehow to those that had loved them, if they found each other and if they were comforting each other.  My grandmother did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to my mother that I know she had needed and my mother didn't even know of her mother's death before her own.  This was going to be a discussion point that I planned on having with my Rabbi later in the week.

All of a sudden, while I was deep in thought wondering if they were close by, two seagulls flew by just in front of  me from right to left over the water.  These two beautiful seagulls were alone in the sky and flying exactly parallel to each other not more than twenty feet in front of me.  It was such a beautiful and comforting vision that it literally took my breath away.  Before I knew it, they separated and each flew in opposite directions.  While I stared ahead toward the lake in disbelief and wonderment, one of the seagulls landed in the water directly in front of me.  It wasn't facing me, instead it was facing directly away from me, but landed exactly in front of me.  It rested for a moment or two and then flew off.  I was so moved by both the beauty and timing of the actions of these two birds and it reminded me instantly that I have always thought that I would love to be a bird in flight.  Their passage in my presence at that exact moment brought the cycle of life full circle for me and left me filled with love, appreciation and a sense of satisfaction despite my longing for the knowledge we will never know.  While, of course, my questions about departed souls can never be answered; this beautiful sight brought me the reassurance I needed to continue on to Chicago and to continue on with my life.