Heaven can wait


The most well known image of heaven, is my image of hell.
All my life everybody who believes in heaven, paints the same picture. The vision of this peaceful place where you can meet your loved ones once again, and where you will spend eternity with them. And that accurately describes my vision of hell. I mean, think about it.
Eternity...
That's a heck of a long time. With your mom. You know she loves you, but eternity with things like: "It's been three decades since you stopped by my cloud!"
With your former boyfriends. With your bully from high school. With your in-laws.
Because you may have wished them all to hell and back, in the greater scheme of things, they weren't such bad people.... (unless you're Eva Braun).
And then that eternity thing. I mean, eternity.
Year after year, decade after decade, century after century, millenium after millenium, in the same place, with the same people.
There will be a moment when everything is said, all the stories will be old and the silence turns from peaceful to deafening.

To me reincarnation is heaven.
You die, spend two or three decades with your loved ones. Catch up with those who left before you, and help those who arrive after you to get around.
And then you go back. To Earth, or Vulcan or whereever your kindred souls have gone, and start over, live life, make mistakes and fall in love.

© 2001 Bertine Centen-Nieuwenkamp