For the sake of simple conveyance of this idea, let's accept reincarnation as reality: Sometimes I wish I could be in touch with who I was in past lives and how I lived because if I lived before today, no matter how well I did or how much influence I had, I could not have had more comforts and conveniences than I do in this life. Even if I was royalty, I would have had to wear dirty clothes most of the time. No washing machines! Even if I lived in the pristine woods I would have had to weather storms. And the food? Butter unrefrigerated? Don't get me started.
Whether I was nothing or someone or an ant or a creature from another dimension I can't imagine right now, I am thankful for the comforts I have in this life. This comfort has a flipside, which is the fact that we've been damaging the environment and, like royalty our comfort relies on standing on the backs of those who do the dirty work. So there's a little guilt with the appreciation. To move forward, I have to look for the positive, and it's there: I am alive at a time when humanity has indulged so much in all of the above that the experience of conscience is something we can share; thanks to the internet, the good guys can collude. And with that, I conclude.