Inspiration Corner
A collection of write-ups from experiences of life that inspire, empower, influence & trigger positive values, habits & mindsets.
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The Heaven Concept
This concept never gets old, and it is a concept that everyone tells everybody to motivate them to do some good. I don't know whether I should stress on the "some" or the "good" in the previous sentence, because it is a very relative thing, what people want to do! I may not know all too well, but there is one little thing I do know about heaven, and that's pretty much what I'm going to be talking about in this article.
I studied in a christian school, a convent- with an actual convent in my school campus and I had sisters (nuns) teaching me a couple of subjects. I also had some strictly religious teachers who were not sisters, who thought it to be their duty to impose God upon the students who studied there.
Once in class, somebody spoke some lies to one religious catholic teacher, after which we learned what hell was, and what happened in hell. The descriptions our teacher gave us was terrifying. She spoke of big ovens with oils boiling in it, where people were tossed and turned for their sins. She spoke of tortures unspeakable, that all those who sinned would have to endure for there was no escaping it. It worked. For a good week, my entire class didn't speak one single lie, fearing the wrath of God and fearing the tortures of hell. But then how strong can the memory of fifth standard kids be? So after a week, the memories of the story started to fade among the students, with new data that we all needed to remember for the exams overwriting the stories of hell (presumably), and students went back to their normal lives without fear.
So life in the school went on, where stories of heaven and hell were a common occurring, but it didn't end there. My grandma back at home told me a lot of stories once I got back home from school. She'd teach me a few things that only her generation was skilled at, she passed on life knowledge to which I am eternally grateful- for these were the things the teachers forgot to teach at schools, these were the things I really needed to know to cruise through life. And she also told me stories of this place called heaven.
Heaven is supposed to be a place where people will never have to work and will get good food whenever they want, will have beautiful surroundings around them always, and there won't be a lack for anything at any point of time. You will always be healthy, you will never have to work, you can always be happy, and have fun. I'm not sure how many other definitions of heaven the others have heard, but if you have, please do let me know through comments.
Now let me draw a parallel to this 'heaven' people generally tell us about, to what our elders generally tell us about 'work'. "You have to only work hard now, you won't have to work hard later". "You've to only study during your 10th boards, 12th boards engineering/medicine. After that life is cool." And then? You will have to work hard for a promotion at work, and maybe twenty years later, you will discover that hey! They've been lying to you the WHOLE time! The definition of heaven where you never have to work, and you will get everything you want in the quantity you want might have been written by somebody who wanted you to conquer Sloth and Greed right now but promised a life fulfilling all your greed and sloth LATER, but this is the same as telling the kids that light is a wave, before breaking to them the dual nature of light. Ain't ever going to happen.
So life in the school went on, where stories of heaven and hell were a common occurring, but it didn't end there. My grandma back at home told me a lot of stories once I got back home from school. She'd teach me a few things that only her generation was skilled at, she passed on life knowledge to which I am eternally grateful- for these were the things the teachers forgot to teach at schools, these were the things I really needed to know to cruise through life. And she also told me stories of this place called heaven.
Heaven is supposed to be a place where people will never have to work and will get good food whenever they want, will have beautiful surroundings around them always, and there won't be a lack for anything at any point of time. You will always be healthy, you will never have to work, you can always be happy, and have fun. I'm not sure how many other definitions of heaven the others have heard, but if you have, please do let me know through comments.
Now let me draw a parallel to this 'heaven' people generally tell us about, to what our elders generally tell us about 'work'. "You have to only work hard now, you won't have to work hard later". "You've to only study during your 10th boards, 12th boards engineering/medicine. After that life is cool." And then? You will have to work hard for a promotion at work, and maybe twenty years later, you will discover that hey! They've been lying to you the WHOLE time! The definition of heaven where you never have to work, and you will get everything you want in the quantity you want might have been written by somebody who wanted you to conquer Sloth and Greed right now but promised a life fulfilling all your greed and sloth LATER, but this is the same as telling the kids that light is a wave, before breaking to them the dual nature of light. Ain't ever going to happen.
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So here's an appeal I want to make to each one of you out there. Retired life is NOT supposed to be a life spent doing NOTHING. Doing NOTHING, was NEVER the GOAL. Doing things you love was the goal. It is always the goal. So if you love to read, read how much ever you can everyday. Get a library membership. If you like socializing, socialize. If you like story telling, then tell stories. Do what you love. Travel. Have your own garden. Grow your own vegetables and fruits. Do what you couldn't do before retirement. For Heaven I believe is a similar place. Where you get to do what you love, at the pace that you find comfortable. It is definitely not a place that will encourage SLOTH! The reason you don't hear this truth often enough, is simply because people DON'T LIKE to hear it! It isn't a pleasant one, when somebody tells you you need to keep working, and you need to keep yourself active, in whichever ways you find delightful! For the simple reason that SOMEBODY ought to say it, I did. What you will do with this information is what is going to make a difference! Heaven is still too far away, we can change how we've planned our retired lives for now!Copyrights © 2024 Inspiration Unlimited eMagazine
Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 23rd July 2015.
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