Heaven

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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.
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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.

7 u( E& S; C* q; ^5 t Heaven
9 v, F6 R- D$ L The pebble is worn smooth
Made small over time
A product of a cataclysmic force of nature
A fragment of mountainous sheets of rock
: X6 K" a- i9 ?& o* s An accidental offspring of a boulder
2 h+ R7 V4 s. Z9 S But just a very small stone.
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9 z. g, a4 `  ?7 ]0 h# M) J1 U' s The pebble's place in our world
/ f# B. R& w3 o4 f! N" a) l Is neither understood nor appreciated
But when thrown into a glassy calm pond
Its insignificance is transformed
8 o0 Z, e8 y2 W4 z Its meaning and purpose is unleashed.
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The instant the pebble kisses the pond
Its signature of concentric ripples
Spiral outwards
Moving far beyond itself.
Gently affecting everything in its wake
Forever altering the smooth placid surface.
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& [; y( P% c8 x) r The pebble creates its worth and meaning
By unleashing its unimagined power?
Into a dueling force of action and reaction
: @5 x$ I- o3 H6 @) l Creating karmic energy
$ t5 B, g5 D0 {3 O% _ Producing lasting and fluid impressions.
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6 o9 o$ D& y4 D0 I Aren't we all pebbles?
2 x/ F9 @' ?5 W/ M/ A% E Feeling small and insignificant
8 k" @, C! R4 a) x2 ~" A9 U But ultimately recognizing
2 Q% T: ~* O1 [0 ~6 q0 I/ q; p* _8 ~ That who we are meant to be
Can never be measured in isolation
on a path into ourselves.

6 f. d. P) [: l7 v. B It is true then:
Our everlasting future
Is created by the indiscriminate tossing of pebbles
Into the pond of life
Creating ripples
that leave unique mark on our world
2 r9 y7 W) ^2 H2 j* x7 b' e Not because of thoughts
not because of well meaning plans
1 u3 C+ @4 S" ]: g8 T. M  t But because of actions.

Our life's prayers our answered
Because even the smallest pebble
* H) H% K4 }$ D No matter how seemingly insignificant
Changes the course of the lives
! k4 L. g: A' T Of those we touch.?

1 F6 @2 \+ D3 G3 o, ^" v And when the icy winds of death
beckon our lasting attention
We will gently leave this life
3 L1 m) R% b2 I2 U8 h With the knowledge that
because of that one pebble
The world will never be the same.
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And then we have heaven …

; n2 ?9 V  R$ K' H, Y9 M Ross Rosenberg
8/18/03