Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Heaven

I actually have a lot to write about, things I want to hash out-- storyboarding a video (YMAA wants to film two in September and there is a third I'd like to do) designing a two day cop class intended to integrate with two other exceptional instructors, stuff like that. But a thought just hit hard.

I'm in Central Oregon, visiting family. People I genuinely like. I had a heaven thought.

I don't believe in or really care for the concept of heaven. I'll go so far as to say that, in the christian sense, belief in heaven is the original sin, not disobedience, but that's for another time. Heaven just makes for a convenient shorthand in our culture.

What could you do forever and not come to hate it? Mark Twain pointed out that even the most beautiful voice in the world can only hold an audience's attention for two hours.

Sipping coffee with my mom would be on the list. Smart and fun and interesting and tough, she is a cool person. And other things, too. Holding hands with K. I half expect to die that way, if I die peacefully. A memory of a breakfast in Baghdad, a moment of perfect serenity that could easily transition to eternity. A dinner in Boston with good friends. Sitting near a rushing river, looking at the stars with my daughter. There are a few brawls that I remember the sadness when they ended because the perfection had been so intense. A hookah bar in Boston with good friends, watching a Haifa video. Sitting around a campfire with Toby. Telling and hearing stories at the August Babies bonfire with old comrades and brothers.

There are many things I enjoy and love, but only a few that in the moment feel timeless. Talking to my mom this morning was one of those.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said as usual. I take those moments down off the shelf every once in a while and dust them off ...not so much to admire them, but to remember that time already spent had a purpose.

Many people say life is about friends and family. I say it because its an easy way to capture the thought that certain moments were perfect because they meant something when they occurred.

-Billy G.

JessicaLee said...

Very cool. Friends in Boston like dinner with you as well. Hearing your commentaries over wings is priceless and I look forward to many more. Good luck with storyboarding I've very excited to see what will com of it!

Wayne said...

Time with friends and family tend to be the best in my book too.

Anonymous said...

"There are a few brawls that I remember the sadness when they ended because the perfection had been so intense."

Utter pretentious nonsense...

Anonymous said...

Thank you; Beautifully written. Warning, you could be indanger of more than sisters knowing there are such things as "favored son"?

Tiff said...

I appreciate the fact that you see "Heaven" in moments that might otherwise be considered paradoxical or anything other than peaceful. It makes sense to me that Heaven is wherever we decide it is.