For example, there have been so many times when I thought "if only I didn't have to deal with this, then my life would be great." My current thought is, "If I lived in a place where there wasn't cold weather, icy roads, and depressing winter darkness I could probably be a lot happier and less stressed." Silly me. Dealing with this, the weather, lack of sunlight, scary roads, whatever problem I think is my enemy, is what will make me stronger, more resilient, happier. Then, and only then, will I be in a place to live a heavenly life.
Some of the most powerful things I have ever learned and the growth I have experienced has come on the heels of something unpleasant. Usually something traumatic and extremely distressing. Even some of my worst choices and mistakes have also brought some of my greatest blessings and wisdom. This life isn't heaven and it wasn't meant to be. Our purpose here isn't to discover heaven, as nice as that would be. Nor is our purpose to be miserable.
Men and women have searched for heaven since the beginning of time. The people who built the tower of Babel, Coronado, and other explorers throughout the ages have tried in vain to find it. So far, to my knowledge, no one has succeeded. Heaven, or even the gateway to heaven, has never been discovered.
As long as we keep searching for something outside of ourselves we are doomed to failure and disappointment. We are chasing after nothing more than a mirage. It looks perfectly enticing from a distance but as soon as you get close to it, it vanishes and reappears somewhere else, farther off on the horizon. The goal in this kind of a search is always out of reach, like the belief that you will be happy when you get a promotion, when your children have all graduated from college, when you can retire. This kind of thinking simply lures you farther and farther away from where you really need to be. Because when you reach the goal you thought would bring happiness, you realize that it didn't bring what you thought it would. You are still as happy or unhappy as you were before.
How easy would it be to be heavenly in a heavenly world under ideal conditions? That would pose no challenge and it would foster no growth. But to be heavenly, to be happy, in an unheavenly world, now that is an accomplishment. Heaven can only be found inside of our very own hearts. And many have succeeded in discovering that.
Here is a video that has been a source for today's pondering. I highly recommend watching it. Both segments are from the same talk. Total time is 18 minutes.
