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Today's
Meditation:
How
many things do we spend a lot of time thinking about that
are completely out of our realm of control or
influence? How often do we get stuck thinking about
something like heaven that we can't see or touch or feel
while we're here, completely ignoring the beauty and
wonder of this world we're on in the meantime? It
can be kind of frustrating to see other people neglect
their responsibilities, not help their fellow humans, or
even kill other people because of what they believe will
be coming when they reach heaven.
"Everything
in its time." There will be a time in our lives
when heaven (if and whatever it happens to be) is relevant to
us-- and that will be when our
time here on earth ends, and our bodies die. Until
then, though, if we focus on it we're taking time and
energy away from those things that are relevant and
important to us now.
I've
moved quite a few times in my life, and I know how it
feels to be focused on something other than the here and
now. I've sometimes spent so much time thinking
about where I was moving to and what it was going to be
like that I completely lost focus on the present, on the
things that were in my life currently. Sometimes I
even gave up on things like making and keeping friends
because I knew that I'd be leaving soon, so why should I
continue to make new friends or maintain old friendships?
Do
we really want to get so caught up in thinking about what
may come after this life that we neglect this life?
I've known people who do so, and it's not a pretty sight
to see-- their lives are full of disappointment and
dissatisfaction because nothing that they have or do can
compare favorably to what they see heaven as being.
Personally, I prefer to be absorbed in the wonder of the
earth-- I'll have plenty of time to think of heaven and its
angels, in whatever form that consists of, when my time
here has come to an end. But until my time here has
ended, it's still my time HERE.
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