Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Doggie Heaven? Makes sense to me

“If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.”
- James Thurber

The older I get, the less certain I am about the whole Heaven thing. It’s not a matter of whether I believe or disbelieve, for that is such a personal matter, but if I conceptualize what is to come, what will it look like?

Within our culture, we are proselytised from virtual infancy that if God decides to snatch us back, regardless of where we sit in the lifespan allotment, we will not really be dead, but just transformed to another place where we will dwell in bliss for eternity just hanging out with Jesus and all.

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Yow, that’s a pretty scary prayer for a tiny tot. Reassuring Mom cajoles and says emphatically, “That doesn’t mean you’re going to die tonight,” but the wise kid knows the lines wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t a slight chance. Such terrifying thoughts tend to compromise the parental goal of dry sheets every night.

“But wait,” says Mama, trying her damnedest to soothe, “that only means that when you die eventually – when you’re very, very old, you will go to a lovely place and see Grandpa again and be very happy.”

Unimpressed with his mother’s theological grasp, the kid eventually nods off, having been promised a new Play Station for Christmas.

But, really, all we do end up being left with is a relatively bland concept of what Heaven might be like, and many of us have formed our own ideas about what we’d like it to resemble, even if we don’t really believe in it. I mean, if you subscribe to the “fire and brimstone” view of religiosity, then you specifically believe in it, much as you believe that the alternative (either for sinners or for those subscribers to cultural groups we don’t really like) is too ghastly to be imagined. Therefore such people strive to be in that select few of ‘saved’ folk.

But, what does such salvation mean? What does it look like?

Somebody once said that while so many people long for eternity, most of them have no idea of what to do with themselves on a wet Sunday afternoon.

A couple of years ago, I was reunited with my oldest friend in this world after a hiatus of more than 15 years. I mean, we’d kept in touch, but hadn’t actually been in each other’s presence for nearly two decades. So, the encounter was wonderful. We discussed this and that and just had a fabulous time. And then we reached the point of starting to grasp for conversational items. I mean, our lives had diverged a long time before. We may have still loved each other, but we had little life stuff in common.

From there I go to thoughts about Heaven, about the afterlife, an afterlife that will last for eternity. My dear friend and I had a challenge making it for two hours.

So, you see, part of my vision of Heaven has included being reacquainted with those who have gone beyond long before us. How wonderful to once again see those whom we’ve cherished, like:

- My grandparents. I still miss them. I still find some spiritual solace in reaching out to them in my heart. Yet, Granny died when I was 14, and Granddad when I was 15. I was pretty unformed. We might not have a lot in common.
- My parents: Oh, probably a lot of unfinished business there. I mean, I do have a lot of questions for both of them, but you know, then we’d end up in an argument, and that sort of behavior is probably frowned upon in Paradise.
- A dear friend who died when he and I were 37. Great guy. Loved him dearly. We went through university together, drank too much beer, fancied our selves great seducers and might handsome fellows -- back then. But, in looking at some material about him, I now realize that he and I diverged somewhat in our political and attitudinal views. Wasn’t apparent at the time, but is now.
- A beautiful lady who was just one of those ‘flings’ and who passed away very prematurely. Would love to tell her how much I cherished a ‘brief encounter’ but, in Christian context at least, our ‘friendship’ would fall into the ‘sin’ category, and might be frowned upon in Heavenly circles. It would just be too complicated.
- On the other hand, I can heed the great wisdom of James Thurber and think how I would utterly cherish seeing my dog, Murphy again, and how we could run and he could chase sticks through the Elysian Fields forever.

But, seriously. Eternity is an awfully long time. Forever? Truly, bend your thoughts around that. Barring reincarnation possibilities (in which we have to do this crap all over again), we must be in some sort of place and state of spirituality in which time and space are no longer relevant.

Dr. Who understands that stuff, but I still have a problem.

So, what is your view of what lies beyond, even if you don’t truly believe and it’s all just speculative on your part? I mean, let’s face it, that’s all it can be in any case.

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13 Comments:

Blogger thailandchani said...

Well, first of all, I believe the universe (collective consciousness) is impersonal. It doesn't know me as an individual. It is a collective of energy ~ so I won't be meeting anyone I have known in this life in the afterlife.

Since everything in nature recycles, I believe we do, too. We live multiple lives at varying levels of development.

Hm. Yeah. It's all speculation. I just went with what made most sense to me.


~*

9:44 AM  
Blogger Janice Thomson said...

I think 'heaven' and 'hell' is right here, right now, on this earth and in this human form. We make of our lives just that: either a heaven or a hell or somewhere in between.
I think when we die we become a different life form altogether and while I've no doubt we'll meet our loved ones I believe it will be more of a knowing rather than a person to person kind of encounter since the body itself turns to dust one way or another.
And yes if I don't get it right I expect I'll be bounced right back here as many times as it takes till I do figure it out. Otherwise considering all the mistakes and faults I, and everyone else, has there would be no hope whatsoever of ever attaining 'salvation' in one lifetime. Change is a very slow process so it makes sense we'd need more than one life to get back to our true selves.
I don't believe 'heaven' is a place with gold streets, beautiful gardens and what have you - since only our soul leaves this earth what need would there be for any of that? These are my thoughts at this time of my life but who knows what changes will occur in later years.

9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heaven's witing on the other side
Reserved for those that's living right
With streets of gold two miles wide
So why's everybody so afraid to die?
(Paul Thorn)

I can't believe in a heaven as a place to go after you die. Doesn't even make sense to me - I think it's the product of a more primitive understanding of the world than we have now. I think we create heaven and hell in the moment.

12:47 PM  
Blogger Daisy said...

Wow, this is a big one Ian. I really can't bear the thought of not ever seeing the people (and dogs) I have loved and lost again, so I really hope and pray heaven does involve some reuiniting of loved-ones. But maybe we don't have to chat, and certainy not argue in heaven. I pictured it more like having sing-songs round the harp and sitting in cosy contemplation...

1:38 PM  
Blogger Jazz said...

I firmly believe you live, you die and when you're dead your only chance at eternal life is as fertilizer.

You don't go to heaven, you aren't reincarnated you're dead. Gone. End of story.

On the one hand you live life to the fullest, on the other hand it would be comforting to believe that the end is not the end. But I'm not one for fairy tales.

2:54 PM  
Blogger andrea said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

6:57 PM  
Blogger andrea said...

I want to go to the same heaven as Simon and Zappa (see my latest post).

6:58 PM  
Blogger Big Brother said...

I'll go with my little sister, you're born, you live, you die, you go back to your constituent molecules. The only immortality we have is the mark we leave on other human beings. The values I pass on to my children, my students, that maybe one day will be passed on to others. :o)

7:06 PM  
Blogger meggie said...

At this point I am certain 'religion' should have no place in a life. I think there is one collective consciousness, so dying is nothing but the shedding of the 'suitcase' which was the physical body to carry our souls, or sparks of souls, about, on this earthly plane. Dogs will surely go to some sort of 'heaven'.!

9:37 PM  
Blogger Hermes said...

I wouldn't say I'm an atheist. But none of us has the foggiest idea about what awaits. Heaven? Hell? Absolutely way too simplistic for a universe of such complexity and intricacy. It has to be hogwash. Opium for us, to keep us in line, to make sure the peasants don't revolt, accepting their place in the divine order of things - shitty as it is. I don't look for reward in the afterlife. Its not there. No one is waiting. Do we really have to imagine beyond our own existence in order to search out the miraculous? Isn't our brief consciousness enough of a commonplace miracle?
Now, time to play on the old Playstation.

11:12 PM  
Blogger Ellee Seymour said...

I believe in it, but am not sure about heaven and hell. I hope I end up as happy in the spirit world as that cute doggie.

9:38 AM  
Blogger Adele said...

I was just never able to get my head round the concept of heaven. or religion.

1:10 PM  
Blogger Dr. Deb said...

I kind of vacillate between the scientific nothingness of the end of life and a spiritual cosmic kind of loftiness. How's that for extremes.

I hope that there is something more, because, like you, I would like to be reunited with cherished people and pets. But the scientist in me says, nope. Nada. Nothing but dust.

5:21 PM  

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