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Today's
Meditation:
While I like to think that we are eternal beings, I have to
say that I really don't know what "eternity"
might mean or feel like. We fear death and
annihilation, of course, because we want to think that
there's more meaning to our lives than just these few
years that we spend here on this planet. It's easy
enough to conceive of eternity as an abstract idea, but in
practice? What is eternity? And where might
our place in it be? Do we stand around all day
playing harps in heaven forever? Or burn in hell
because we didn't follow a rule or two while we were on
this planet?
We
don't want to think of eternity as being painful because
then we wouldn't have a whole lot to look forward to,
would we? We want eternity to be positive, many of
us want it to have something to do with God, and we want
to be sure that we have a personal place in it. But
one of the most important things we can do about our
relationship to eternity is to not dwell on it-- to let go
what we believe about eternity and focus on the present
moments, for the more we focus on that which we don't know
or understand, the less we're able to engage fully in the
lives we're living right here and right now.
When
we do think about it, it's important to let go of any of
the explanations that we have of it that come from other
people who are trying to make us believe what they
believe. It can be fun to ponder eternity, but in
our own ways. What would we like it to be?
What would we choose to do or be if we were able to create
our own ways of passing through eternity? We can use
our imaginations to explore eternity rather than using
other people's ideas to explain it.
Personally,
I think I get a glimpse of eternity when I look into the
eyes of a child, when I hold a baby or a newborn puppy, or
when I share company with a very old person who is at
peace with being very old. Then I feel renewal,
perpetuation, and hope. Those are the times I feel
close to understanding what we're here for-- and
understanding that the idea of eternity isn't limited to
here. We're all a part of eternity, and how we
approach this life may be a good indicator of just what
we're ready for in an eternal sense.
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