Fuckin' A.
I was just about to give up on thinking of a journal topic for the morning, and get to work on some other things, when I read this post on the boards.
It got me thinking...see, there were several things I wanted to tell the guy concerning death, but not all of them are happy, positive things that would really help anything, so I bit my tongue. It really isn't important, in that it's all theoratical anyway, but it probably wouldn't have done anything but upset him.
I posted this post in the boards a couple of weeks ago, because it's a topic I think about a lot. Not just hell, but heaven too. I have no idea what one I will wind up in, but that could bridge into religious discussion and I'm not really in the mood to go there. In case you had not already gathered, I do believe in heaven and hell, if only in theory. Then again I also accept other things as possibilities, but that, too, is off topic.
In the thread I mentioned above, the guy asks his friend to "watch over him," or something of that nature. That is specifically what caught my eye this morning.
As I told Damgdgoodz in the thread, I believe his friend is probably better off now. I generally believe that we will all be better off after death. Call it a tenet of my cynical nature, but with the world as fucked up as it is, in innumerable ways, I can not imagine the afterlife being much worse, at least for those who have a favorable outcome.
It is that belief, however, that troubles me about his request...the one for his friend's surveillance from beyond.
Assume this: when you die, you become free of the (excuse the clich) "mortal coil," and are essentially given access to the universe. To go one further, I believe that time is truly relative after death, so basically one could travel anywhere, any time, and see what you wish. You could hang out with other dearly departed, or (as I would prefer), strike out on your own and see the wonders of the universe.
Whatever the case, an existence in heaven is believed to be joy beyond all imagination. So how then do you think one would feel about the notion of "watching over" those left behind, once there? That is, assuming that one even has the power to do anything to effect the lives of the mortal, from beyond?
I do not imply any kind of selfishness or lack of caring for one's family and friends after death. Quite the contrary, if you think about it.
I think that once a person dies, they gain a new perspective of this world and life in it. They would see it for the finite, laborious experience that it is. Moreover, they would see that all the trials, the pain, and even the eventual death that all loom over us in this life are miniscule compared to what awaits.
To put it another way, imagine for a moment that you have died. You find yourself in heaven, and do not picture the typical "angels walking around on clouds" heaven. Instead try to imagine being happier than you even thought possible.
Now, imagine that someone you care dearly for back here on earth is in a life-threatening situation. You realize that you can intervene and save them, but would you? Or would you look around and wonder why you should prevent them from joining you in elysium?
To me, this life and everything we experience in it is fleeting. If typical beliefs concerning the afterlife are correct, there is so much more waiting beyond the bell's toll.
I imagine that if I were dead, I would take no interest in the affairs of those I left behind. Not because I do not care about them...that is not the case at all. Rather, I think that I would simply no longer care about what transpires here, knowing that in the end, no part of this existence matters.
Whether or not you get the car payment in on time, whether or not you see that TV show you like, whether or not you tell him or her, does any of it really matter? Obviously it does to us here, yes, but do you think it matters to those on the other side? Maybe, maybe not.
I think those that have gone before us surely still care about us, and many may take some kind of active role in our lives...who is to say? I just offer another perspective...that they may have a whole new existence to explore, and in the meantime will let us live and die, while they wait to share their joy with us.
Fuck I'm longwinded this morning. Anyway, I had thought about this for a while now and wanted to share.
I was just about to give up on thinking of a journal topic for the morning, and get to work on some other things, when I read this post on the boards.
It got me thinking...see, there were several things I wanted to tell the guy concerning death, but not all of them are happy, positive things that would really help anything, so I bit my tongue. It really isn't important, in that it's all theoratical anyway, but it probably wouldn't have done anything but upset him.
I posted this post in the boards a couple of weeks ago, because it's a topic I think about a lot. Not just hell, but heaven too. I have no idea what one I will wind up in, but that could bridge into religious discussion and I'm not really in the mood to go there. In case you had not already gathered, I do believe in heaven and hell, if only in theory. Then again I also accept other things as possibilities, but that, too, is off topic.
In the thread I mentioned above, the guy asks his friend to "watch over him," or something of that nature. That is specifically what caught my eye this morning.
As I told Damgdgoodz in the thread, I believe his friend is probably better off now. I generally believe that we will all be better off after death. Call it a tenet of my cynical nature, but with the world as fucked up as it is, in innumerable ways, I can not imagine the afterlife being much worse, at least for those who have a favorable outcome.
It is that belief, however, that troubles me about his request...the one for his friend's surveillance from beyond.
Assume this: when you die, you become free of the (excuse the clich) "mortal coil," and are essentially given access to the universe. To go one further, I believe that time is truly relative after death, so basically one could travel anywhere, any time, and see what you wish. You could hang out with other dearly departed, or (as I would prefer), strike out on your own and see the wonders of the universe.
Whatever the case, an existence in heaven is believed to be joy beyond all imagination. So how then do you think one would feel about the notion of "watching over" those left behind, once there? That is, assuming that one even has the power to do anything to effect the lives of the mortal, from beyond?
I do not imply any kind of selfishness or lack of caring for one's family and friends after death. Quite the contrary, if you think about it.
I think that once a person dies, they gain a new perspective of this world and life in it. They would see it for the finite, laborious experience that it is. Moreover, they would see that all the trials, the pain, and even the eventual death that all loom over us in this life are miniscule compared to what awaits.
To put it another way, imagine for a moment that you have died. You find yourself in heaven, and do not picture the typical "angels walking around on clouds" heaven. Instead try to imagine being happier than you even thought possible.
Now, imagine that someone you care dearly for back here on earth is in a life-threatening situation. You realize that you can intervene and save them, but would you? Or would you look around and wonder why you should prevent them from joining you in elysium?
To me, this life and everything we experience in it is fleeting. If typical beliefs concerning the afterlife are correct, there is so much more waiting beyond the bell's toll.
I imagine that if I were dead, I would take no interest in the affairs of those I left behind. Not because I do not care about them...that is not the case at all. Rather, I think that I would simply no longer care about what transpires here, knowing that in the end, no part of this existence matters.
Whether or not you get the car payment in on time, whether or not you see that TV show you like, whether or not you tell him or her, does any of it really matter? Obviously it does to us here, yes, but do you think it matters to those on the other side? Maybe, maybe not.
I think those that have gone before us surely still care about us, and many may take some kind of active role in our lives...who is to say? I just offer another perspective...that they may have a whole new existence to explore, and in the meantime will let us live and die, while they wait to share their joy with us.
Fuck I'm longwinded this morning. Anyway, I had thought about this for a while now and wanted to share.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
eternalkrista:
I agree about alot of things you say. But sometimes people pray to the dead and if you were dead and in your paradise would you listen and look down to those people that called on you for comfort.
mephistovi:
dude, so fuckin awesome. It strikes true deep down in my "so-called soul".