How long is forever? I bet most people would say that forever is a time that never begins nor ends. It's eternal. It exists in perpetuity.
Time began when I was born and will end the moment I die. From where I sit right now, I've been alive forever -- at least forever for me. I bet that once I'm dead I will no longer have any concept of time and so ever or forever won't mean jack!
A lot of people contemplate the idea of forever a good deal of the time. For Christians, it's one of their favorite subjects. For them, everything a person might say or do right now is predicated on forever. If you say and do the right things, then maybe a good forever is in the cards. If you say or do the wrong things, then a bad forever will be your punishment.
Of course, you don't want a bad forever because you might not be able to see God, Jesus and everyone in your family -- unless, of course, they too did the wrong things. ;>)
For me though, this idea of an eternal heavenly paradise or fiery furnace is based on a continued concept of self which, concurrently, is still consumed with the idea of time. Since I think it's doubtful that the concept of self continues after our earthly lives are snuffed out, I think forever only exists in the here and now.
Time began when I was born and will end the moment I die. From where I sit right now, I've been alive forever -- at least forever for me. I bet that once I'm dead I will no longer have any concept of time and so ever or forever won't mean jack!
A lot of people contemplate the idea of forever a good deal of the time. For Christians, it's one of their favorite subjects. For them, everything a person might say or do right now is predicated on forever. If you say and do the right things, then maybe a good forever is in the cards. If you say or do the wrong things, then a bad forever will be your punishment.
Of course, you don't want a bad forever because you might not be able to see God, Jesus and everyone in your family -- unless, of course, they too did the wrong things. ;>)
For me though, this idea of an eternal heavenly paradise or fiery furnace is based on a continued concept of self which, concurrently, is still consumed with the idea of time. Since I think it's doubtful that the concept of self continues after our earthly lives are snuffed out, I think forever only exists in the here and now.
I thunk that myself a fair few times too. good one.
ReplyDeleteHI R T
ReplyDeleteGood thought provoking post. FOrever for me is definitely now - and when I think of forever I think like this: I will do whatever I must to ensure a part of my life continues - for example; loving my husband, and other family too, managing my health, and standing up for justice and promoting peace - so when I think of forever I challenge myself to keep things that are good and kind and loving and humble going-"forever" :-)
Love to you
Gail
peace.....
Forever is like, not thinking. Perhaps because past and future is attached to a thought.
ReplyDelete