Heaven and hell

I’m not much of a religious believer, but I do believe in heaven and hell. But not the afterlife sort that dominates most theology. I believe heaven and hell exist right here on earth, while we are living.

There are people who are content and happy in life, happy with what they do, happy in their relationships. I think this is as close to heaven as any of us could imagine. I certainly feel that way.

And there are people whose lives are a daily misery, and if that isn’t hell I don’t know what is.

Now whether we are in heaven or hell is to a certain extent a matter of luck. Some people get through life without major tragedy, and some people just have the bad luck to inherit depression genes or to be born in a war zone or into abject, grinding poverty. Still, there is more than luck involved.

To a large extent we make our own reality with our own attitudes. I think of Stephen Hawkings, locked in his wheelchair for 40 years, hardly able to communicate any more. Yet he continues to express joy (most recently at experiencing zero gravity) and do impressive work in physics. I think of Christopher Reeve, struck down as a quadriplegic in the prime of his life, he went on to continue to direct and act in movies, and encourage others with disabilities not to despair. I have a friend who has been battling cancer for as long as I have known her – perhaps 20+ years now – but she gets on with life, occasionally disappearing for a while for chemotherapy and then reappearing wearing a wig, but having a good time all the while. Attitude.

On the other hand the world, or at least America, seems to be full of celebrities and stars with all the fame and fortune anyone could wish for, who bounce from one disastrous relationship to another, often sinking in misery with drugs or alcohol until they do themselves in.

In truth, it rains on everyone’s parade from time to time, and whether that ruins our life or not is simply a matter of our attitude. So in the end, I think what gets us into heaven or hell is our outlook on life, not our theology. And I feel sorry for all those who spend their lives waiting and working to get into heaven after their death, and thereby miss the heaven possible in their lifetime.