of Heaven 'n Earth

I just read this comment at someone's blog....

"Any day above ground is a GOOD day"

....and of course, bein' the person I AM, I just HADDA comment on their comment.

So I'll start by sayin' this: do we really KNOW that the above statement is true? Is this simply one man's opinion? Or do we absolutely, positively KNOW that any day above ground (i.e., alive) is better than any day NOT above ground? (i.e., dead)

Yeah, I know. Most folks, especially considerin' the alternative (bein' alive vs. bein' dead), feel it's true. But, not ALL folk feel that way. And, of course, not ME....which brings me to my "story" and an explanation for MDJ's way of thinkin'.

As a youngin', bein' brought up by two Italian parents in a Roman Catholic household, from the day we were born it was drummed into our heads that 1) we are to fear God but 2) Heaven was THE shit...I mean, Heaven was THE ultimate place to be (yes guys, it's supposed to be even BETTER than Sturgis! Imagine THAT!). So if Heaven is supposed to be THAT GREAT, couldn't one say that any day NOT above ground (i.e., dead...cuz ya DO gotta be dead to get to Heaven) is a GOOD day? We'll see.

Everything we did in our daily Catholic lives revolved around eventually grabbin' the golden ring and gettin' ourselves into Heaven. We were taught that at the time of our death the physical part of us dies and gets buried under ground atta cemetery. However, on the other hand, the spiritual part of us (which is REALLY a hard subject for elementary-school-aged kids to grasp...and even some grownups) does NOT die. We were told that the spirit in us goes up to a beautiful love-and-light-filled place called Heaven where we are joined with God and The Blessed Mother and the Angels and all those who have died before us. Once in Heaven we exist only in spirit form, not in physical...and even tho we are taught that some spirits can live on and on and on (but that's a whole other topic for a whole other discussion on a whole other day) I think that's where most people freak out. They can't handle the thought of death...the thought of 'em not bein' in their present alive human form, stuffed into a box 'n shoved way down deep in the dirt where the entire insect world and all their freaky lil' insect cousins can feast on us for many a decade. Yet, if ya think about it, isn't it our SPIRIT that makes us, US? Without the "spirit" part of us, we'd be just a bunch of useless zombie-type-bodies meanderin' thru life without a cause or a care.

Hmmm, I must admit...I DO know a few folk like that :-)

So if our SPIRIT never dies (and our SPIRIT is who we ARE) then one could say that neither do WE, correct? So then why all the hoopla that any day ABOVE ground (i.e., alive) is a GOOD day, when we never REALLY die anyway? And how can one say that bein' alive on earth really beats dyin' and goin' to that all-knowin'-all-wondrous place called Heaven? It don't. Not in MY eyes. And how do I know this? Well my friend, read on.

Now, don't get me wrong....I personally don't feel the way I do way solely on account of my strict religious upbringin' (which really didn't do me a helluva lotta good in any OTHER aspects of my life, LOL). I feel this way, well, because I just sorta knew that "I was there"....or at the very least, I was on my way to Heaven...or whatever ya wanna call it, but I sure wasn't on this earth. But for a very long time I didn't even realize that I WAS there, until one day when those exact words suddenly and very unexpectedly came flyin' outta my mouth (which stunned the hell outta ME, I might add). And the split second after those words DID come flyin' outta my mouth I wondered WHY the hell I had just blurted 'em out...and it was only then that I realized how on one particular day I had experienced somethin' that equated bein' gone from THIS place, above ground, 'n went to some other unknown yet totally-lovin'-peaceful-carin'-beautiful-calmin'-bright-filled-with-light-'n-absolutely-unconditional-true-love place. Could the place that I went to on that very day have been Heaven? THAT, my friends, I really cannot say with 100% certainty. I CAN, however, say that it was probably as close as I'm gonna get, for now. And the only other thing I can tell ya is I KNOW that where I went on that afternoon was DEFINITELY not of this plane or of this dimension...but it sure as hell WAS one GOOD DAY.

And maybe now y'all will understand that when I say I cannot WAIT to get off this hellhole called EARTH, its only cuz I've, well, I've already "been there, done that". Yes, it certainly will be a joyous day for MeanDonnaJean when my physical form dies and my spiritual form returns to that magical place 'n lives on and on and on (just as it HAS been doin' for oodles 'n oodles of years).

Whoops! Sorry...that's a whole OTHER topic for discussion at some OTHER time :-)