What do you believe happens when a person dies? Where do you think we go from here? There is no point asking what you know about it, because we all know exactly the same: zilch. And anyway, I would bet that for most people, what they believe is really more like what they want to happen.
With all the things happening in my life and in the lives of my kids, and with my constant frustration at not being able to have a simple conversation with my dad, you would probably think I want him to be, in the classic vision, "up there smiling down". You would be wrong. I don't intend to demean anybody's beliefs, or deny comfort to those who find it in their faith, but the older I get, the harder it has become to force myself to believe in heaven or any afterlife, really. If you believe that our souls go somewhere else, or that we become something different after this life, I envy the comfort you derive from it.
That is what I believe, but here is what I want: Of course I want there to be something after this, and paradise would be nice. But failing that, I would love to know that wherever our souls go, beyond being happy, I hope we aren't concerned in the least with earthly affairs. Imagine how frustrating it would be to be able to see your loved ones go on with their lives without you, to witness, but not be able to influence, their worst experiences along with their best ones. No thanks.
I hope I will somehow have time with my dad again in the distant future, after my lifetime, but in the mean time, I hope he has no emotional attachment to anything going on "down here".
Just to show you I am not made of stone, here is a funny clip about this topic from the immortal George Carlin. The needle on the irony meter broke when Mr. Carlin died only a few weeks after this HBO special aired. I can only assume he is smiling down on this blog post. And I think he's pleased.
WARNING: If you watch this at work or around kids, keep the sound low. Some of the language isn't safe for work.
No comments:
Post a Comment