Today while still on the shuttle, on my way to the office, I finished reading Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
This little book put an interesting perspective on what we may expect in the afterlife.
The story was about a wounded war veteran named Eddie. An old man who has lived, in his mind, a life that is somewhat luckluster or uninspired. He is lonely and transformed himself into a bitter old man, consumed by the thought of not having to accomplished anything worthy in life. He spent most of his life maintaining the rides at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park, greasing tracks and tightening bolts and listening for strange sounds, "keeping them safe."
On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart.
He woke up in heaven and encountered five pivotal figures from his life who showed him the true meaning and value of his life. One by one, these mostly unexpected characters reminded him that all of us is somehow connected in many ways; that all our stories are somehow intertwined. With each person Eddie meets, a part of his life is revealed, even if he does not appreciate its significance at the time.
The last person he met was a young girl from the Philippines. The girl he tried to save from fires he caused when he burned the huts where he, along with his fellow soldiers, were imprisoned and tortured for months.
Through these five people Eddie understandood what the real meaning of his life was. And it's his turn now to enlighten the others.
Everything happens for a reason. Hmmm..... Wait, that may be debatable if you read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" where he explains the origin of antimatter.
But I do believe that every person you come in contact with throughout your life, has a purpose. And I've got a list of people whom I wanted to meet in the afterlife, whether it be heaven or something else. One of them is my father.
2 comments:
"But I do believe that every person you come in contact with throughout your life, has a purpose."
Edward, we share the same view on this one.
This reminds me of the philosopher Democritus (c. 460-370 BC), who held that every event in the universe is causally determined by preceding events; effecting that, yes, we have an effect--either negative or positive--on everyone whom and everything which we come in contact with in any period in each of our own lives.
And I'd rather be a positive influence; although this is the harder choice for, according to a philosophy to which I ascribe, the tendency to be negative is the nature of humans.
aLfie
On a hiatus?
Post a Comment