Heaven is not somewhere you go...

“Heaven is not somewhere you go…heaven is somewhere you are!”

For much of my life I believed in the idea that heaven was somewhere I went, somewhere I ended up after I died. This belief was most evident in the religious tradition and practices I grew up with. However, the religious institutions were not the only source of this message.

Learning that heaven was a place I ended up was repeated throughout my educational experiences—from kindergarten to university. The message was ever-present is the media and the health-care system. The mortuary business, at least the mortuary business I was exposed to, held this message near and dear. And the culture at large imbibed and imbued this message. No wonder I believed this to be true! It was all around me.

And what an interesting thought system…to believe that heaven is somewhere else…somewhere you go once you die. At least it has eased the pain and grief of many a soul around the world to know their loved ones have ‘ended up in a better place.’

But what if…what IF…heaven is not somewhere we go? What if heaven is not a place we end up after we die? What then? What’s left? What’s left to live for?

What if heaven is the place we are? Right here, right now. Doesn’t the bible speak of such possibilities… “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” ? (Matthew 6:10, KJV)

What if heaven is a choice? A choice to live each day…for today: a choice for happiness; a choice for peace; a choice for love.

If right now, as you are reading this, you are saying… “Easier said than done!”… I may respond by asking… “Who is saying it’s easier said than done? Who is choosing how you feel? Who is believing a certain version of a story that you are playing in your head? Who is holding you back from living the life you have always wanted to lead?”

Why do we wake up some mornings and feel great, alive, ready to take on the world? And why is it that other mornings all we want to do is stay in bed and get some rest!? What makes us get on with our days…with glee?...or with disdain and resentment? Who is in charge of your day? Who is seeing what you are seeing?

These are, perhaps, some of the great philosophical questions of millennia. But what if the answer to all these questions is right HERE, right NOW, staring at you when you look in the mirror?

Here is what I have learned. Heaven is here. Heaven is now. There is no other place to go. There is no other place to be. There is no pearly gate. There is no judgement day. WE are the judge…and TODAY is judgement day. Each and every day you rise to meet the day, you ARE the judge.

Now…what’s the verdict?