There is one irrefutable fact of Life: We’re all going to die someday.
Not just us humans. ALL living creatures.
It makes us anxious, it makes us afraid, and it makes us sad.
But there’s really nothing we can do about it.
In my Life experience, I’ve encountered many different philosophies about what happens after we die. They are basically a “defense mechanism” that help us get through our days and ultimately our lives.
We see our friends and loved ones pass away and we wonder: Is that it? Is that what Life was really all about?
And one day – eventually – it happens to us. We get old, or sick, or have a terrible accident. However Death comes to us, it WILL come.
If you’re still reading this and I haven’t depressed or frightened you too much, let me get to the point: Is there a Heaven?
The answer is short and sweet: We don’t know. No one does. Not your pastor or your priest or your crazy Uncle Lenny.
No one.
That’s because leaving this world is a one-way deal. No one has ever visited Heaven and come back to tell us about it.
Oh sure, there have been many, many tales of people having “after-Death experiences,” claiming to have gone down a tunnel to a blinding light, being met by angels, feeling wonderful.
Maybe even having a conversation with God or Jesus.
And then being revived and brought back to the Land of the Living to regale us with their incredible out-of-body adventure.
But did they REALLY visit Heaven? REALLY?
It all comes down to what you believe. Religion promises a Heavenly afterlife, and that keeps the faithful coming back every Sunday to plunk their money into the collection plate, trying to buy a little Salvation.
But does it? No one can truthfully say.
I’m not a religious person. There’s too much hypocrisy and corruption and too many wars and killing in the name of someone's God to take organized religion seriously.
But I DO believe in the concept of Heaven.
I think lots of non-religious people do. Because even though we’re not really “religious,” we are spiritual. We believe in a soul that is forever, and that this Life is NOT the only adventure our souls will have in our Journey through this vast Universe.
Yes, believing in a “Heavenly” afterlife is comforting because it helps us face the true reality of living: That we will grow old (if we’re lucky), physically crumble and die one day.
And that we will have to leave our family members and other loved ones behind.
I happen to believe something awaits us after we die. Will that something depend on how we lived on Earth?
Maybe.
Will Heaven be all clouds and angels and harps?
I hope not. Too boring.
But what I do believe is that we WILL be reunited with the souls of those who have gone before us. Lots of people believe this, and I think it helps keep us humans on the straight-and-narrow to a higher degree.
My advice: Try to live a good and decent Life, to love and care about others.
And you may just find a little Heaven right here on Earth.
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