Heaven

khfacdgku

Seven years ago I was asked by a friend if I was "religious and if I believed in God?" As a (formerly) practicing agnostic I quickly answered:"no." However, I defended myself by explaining that I lived my life according to universal principals of "right and wrong" (as I understood them). Because I believed that our deeds create a lasting effect on the world, I felt confident in my everlasting future. In other words, I wasn't worried about there being a heaven or not. I told my friend that when I die, I am banking on knowing that my impact on the world will be ever lasting. My "heaven" will ultimately be the creation of the the sum total of all my actions.

0 ?) i, ^2 q3 ]: h4 T5 M7 b3 X( B I will never forget my friend's response: he looked at me with glassy eyes, and told me how deeply spiritual I was. I didn't see it. It took five more years to see what he meant. Such was the inspiration of the following poem I wrote.

+ i! z$ g- ?, u3 x  e. M Heaven
The pebble is worn smooth
9 _) i( t- e0 W1 i+ y; _ Made small over time
4 q' k7 q3 `3 P1 ?7 I A product of a cataclysmic force of nature
A fragment of mountainous sheets of rock
An accidental offspring of a boulder
But just a very small stone.

The pebble's place in our world
Is neither understood nor appreciated
$ d2 p. e0 o0 V But when thrown into a glassy calm pond
Its insignificance is transformed
Its meaning and purpose is unleashed.

The instant the pebble kisses the pond
" J: V7 b- O4 u1 m5 j Its signature of concentric ripples
Spiral outwards
Moving far beyond itself.
1 j6 C7 N( f2 v, i Gently affecting everything in its wake
Forever altering the smooth placid surface.
6 P$ ^7 z1 N* @% S- r4 a  |2 v3 W
The pebble creates its worth and meaning
By unleashing its unimagined power?
Into a dueling force of action and reaction
Creating karmic energy
Producing lasting and fluid impressions.

% W! f1 L; M7 M- U& A# k9 v Aren't we all pebbles?
0 {0 `' m5 k( a! ~7 D* ?* E* V# m) H Feeling small and insignificant
But ultimately recognizing
That who we are meant to be
Can never be measured in isolation
on a path into ourselves.

It is true then:
  p' W0 N: S0 w, F. V0 p8 U Our everlasting future
( \1 G- w* I& r  C; H Is created by the indiscriminate tossing of pebbles
Into the pond of life
+ Z+ P& Z" [7 e) v! P Creating ripples
/ G. F$ A  r+ j  Q7 V+ l( x. } that leave unique mark on our world
! O  {5 h4 ^8 X Not because of thoughts
not because of well meaning plans
But because of actions.

1 ^( j, n, k- L5 u' ~ Our life's prayers our answered
2 o+ T5 p! J# W1 G+ E1 l  S Because even the smallest pebble
No matter how seemingly insignificant
' _% @3 s; E; H- [: D) Z Changes the course of the lives
3 z& ~" g- z4 n# t; m Of those we touch.?
( K7 t& C. P: _/ \8 [& g
And when the icy winds of death
0 G8 _( D4 |1 X# l beckon our lasting attention
We will gently leave this life
With the knowledge that
because of that one pebble
' {. Y4 g# A7 h" w5 j% r" C The world will never be the same.

And then we have heaven …

Ross Rosenberg
8/18/03